Town Hall and Cryptoportics of Arles, Arles

The Town Hall was completed in 1676, during a period when Arles sought to reaffirm its civic prestige. Designed in an elegant Provençal classical style, its harmonious façade and well-proportioned clock tower stand proudly on Republic Square, symbolizing the authority of the city’s magistrates.

Inside, its grand staircase is crafted using stones recovered from ancient Roman buildings. As a stylish bonus, the staircase also features a replica of Venus of Arles. The original ancient Greco-Roman sculpture was deemed to be a great gift for King Louis XIV, hence it was moved to the Versailles Palace itself.

Directly beneath Republic Square and the Town Hall lies the Cryptoporticus of Arles. Constructed around 30 BC during the Roman colony’s early development, this network of semi-subterranean vaulted galleries once supported the ancient forum above. The structure likely served multiple roles, including storage, administrative functions, and stabilization of the civic center built on uneven terrain. Remarkably well preserved, its long corridors, robust stone arches, and cool, shadowed atmosphere offer visitors a rare opportunity to explore the hidden infrastructure of a Roman city.

The contrast between the Town Hall’s sunlight-washed façade and the shadowed maze below it captures the pleasing dichotomy of Arles. Together, they reveal how the city’s history lives both above and beneath the surface — and whichever one you choose to discover first, both are ready to impress.