Glanum

Glanum lies about 1 km south of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in a valley of the Alpilles. The Salyes, a Gaulish people, founded the fortified settlement in the 6th century BC around a spring and named it after the spring god Glan; through trade with Massalia its inhabitants adopted Greek culture. In 125 BC the Romans defeated the Salyes; in 27 BC, under Augustus, the town received the status of "oppidum latinum", and around 20 BC the first Roman forum was built. The town was destroyed in the 3rd century AD, according to one source in 260 AD by the Alamanni.

Systematic excavations began in 1921 under Jules Formigé. On the excavated site you can see the sacred spring, residential quarters with villas and baths, the forum, a basilica, a theatre, temples and an arch dam. "Les Antiques" refers to the triumphal arch (about AD 10 to 25, the first of its kind in Gaul) and the three-tier mausoleum of the Julii (about 40 or 30 to 20 BC).

The arch and mausoleum stand across the road and, according to a guidebook, can be visited free of charge (as of October 2026). It is about a 30-minute walk from the town centre. Next door is the asylum where Van Gogh spent two years. Allow about two hours.