Glanum Roman Site, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Glanum, located 3 kilometres south of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in Bouches-du-Rhône along the Route des Baux, is one of the most significant and least crowded Roman archaeological sites in southern France. The site encompasses the ruins of a town occupied continuously for over 600 years — from its origins as a Hellenistic settlement founded around the 2nd century BCE by the indigenous Salyens people under Greek cultural influence, through Roman colonisation following Julius Caesar's campaigns in Gaul (58–50 BCE), to its destruction by Germanic invasions around 270 CE. The excavated area visible today covers approximately 3 hectares of the ancient town centre. The most prominent standing remains are the so-called Antiques — a triumphal arch and a mausoleum tower that stand just outside the main site boundary beside the road to Les Baux. The Mausoleum of the Julii (Les Antiques), dated to approximately 30–20 BCE, is the best-preserved Roman mausoleum in Gaul, rising 18.5 metres in three sculptural tiers decorated with relief carvings of military triumphs and mythological scenes. The nearby Arch, erected under Julius Caesar or Augustus, is notable for the quality of its carved garlands, captives, and weapons. Inside the excavated site, visitors walk through the grid-planned Roman street layout, passing the forum and its surrounding portico columns, a Gallo-Roman sanctuary originally built by the Salyens, twin temples flanking the main sacred precinct, a Roman bouleuterion (council chamber), and private houses with surviving mosaic floors. The site's elaborate water management system — including a nymphaeum (fountain sanctuary) — reflects its origins as a sacred spring settlement; evidence of water cults predates the Hellenistic phase entirely. Glanum was excavated systematically from 1921 by Henri Rolland, and research excavations continue. On-site interpretation panels and an audio guide contextualise the Hellenistic, Republican Roman, and Imperial Roman layers visible in the same building phases. The proximity to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, the asylum where Vincent van Gogh spent a year in 1889–1890, makes a combined visit natural and convenient.