The most important event in 19th-century Arles was the arrival of the railroad and the installation of the SNCF train repair shops between 1845 and 1856.  This resulted in a complete rupture with the traditional port-based activities of the city.  In 1842 the poet Lamartine defended before the National Assembly the project of having the railway line from Marseille to Avignon pass through the city of Arles.

In February 1888 Vincent Van Gogh arrived in Arles and stayed here until May 1889.  His stay coincides with the most productive period in his artistic career.  He did 300 paintings or drawings of the countryside of Arles, first snow-covered then in the light of spring, the seaside, the Rhone River and the canals, men and women at work, the city by day or by night.

A brochure on sale at the Arles Tourist Office describes the Van Gogh walking tour a marked trail which you can follow at your own rhythm leading you to spots represented in some of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings.