By Olivia Bennett for Wonders of the World
I promised myself that the next time my ship arrived in Marseille, I would follow Van Gogh’s footsteps across Provence. So here I am again—stepping off the gangway, ready to keep that promise.
Just like last time, I booked a local guide through GetYourGuide. My driver met me at the port, and soon we were gliding through the Provençal countryside—past those very landscapes that shaped Van Gogh’s most luminous years. I adore European guides like this: the kind who can turn an ancient obelisk, a Roman tympanum, or a swirl of blue sky into a story that awakens something in you. Pierre was exactly that person.
I’m convinced my love for irises began with Van Gogh. As a university student, I used to stare at the reproduction of one of his famous iris paintings—long before I ever saw an actual iris in real life. Blue has always been my favorite color, and no blue has ever felt quite like his.
Over the years, I’ve seen Van Gogh’s works from Paris to New York, and even found that little blue-doored apartment in Montmartre where he lived with Theo. But I had never made it to Arles, the town where he created so many of his masterpieces. Along the Rhône, under that crisp Provençal light, Vincent captured what still feels eternal today: silence, movement, warmth—and the courage to see the world differently.
Arles — Where Light Speaks
Arles makes it easy to feel close to his story. Throughout the town, steel and concrete “easels” mark the exact spots where Van Gogh painted, each displaying the original artwork for comparison.
The Yellow House
Vincent arrived in Arles in February 1888 and rented a small house on Place Lamartine. The Yellow House is gone now—destroyed during the war—yet the four-story building behind it still stands, anchoring the memory of the painting.
When the cold kept him indoors, he painted still lifes and self-portraits to keep his hand moving. Then spring arrived, and everything changed: blossoming orchards, olive trees, harvest scenes, the quick shimmer of Provençal light. A masterpiece a day.
Jardin d’Été
Van Gogh spent long hours painting in the Jardin d’Été. In one of his letters he wrote: “I don’t know if you understand that one can speak poetry just by arranging colours well.”
This is how he saw: not copying reality, but expressing the feeling a place awakened in him.
Where Rome and Van Gogh Cross Paths
Arles’ Roman amphitheatre sends you back in time in an instant. And the former hospital courtyard—today the Espace Van Gogh—still mirrors the famous painting he made during his stay. It feels like stepping into his canvas.
Our final stop was Place de la République: an obelisk, a fountain, the town hall, and the Romanesque Saint-Trophime church—one of the Camino de Santiago’s historic points.
From there we walked to the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles. They don’t hold a permanent collection of originals, but I didn’t miss them. I’ve seen many in New York; here, it’s the spirit of the place that matters.
Provence — Land of Radiant Moments
Van Gogh used color beyond reality—bold strokes, vibrating tones, captured emotions. He wasn’t trying to recreate a landscape; he wanted to freeze the feeling of a moment. That’s why his work never ages.
Savona — A Day with Vincent’s Letters
Yesterday we docked in Savona. Since I know the city well, I stayed aboard and dove into Van Gogh’s letters. In 1914, Theo’s wife published more than seven hundred of them—a window into Vincent’s mind, doubts, tenderness, and extraordinary devotion.
My favorite line?
“The more I think about it, the more I realize that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
— Vincent van Gogh to Theo, Arles, September 17, 1888
Maybe that is Provence’s real message too: that light, love, and the quiet rhythms of the human soul can live forever in a painter’s colors.