Church of St. Trophime (Eglise St-Trophime)

Walking tours of Arles often include a visit to the Church of St. Trophime, often in conjunction with the city’s many Roman ruins. Constructed from pale stone, it’s most acclaimed for its magnificent, colonnaded Romanesque portal, which was restored in the late 20th century and depicts the Last Judgment, with Christ overseeing anguished sinners being dragged down into Hell and the righteous ascending to Heaven.

Inside, the church is austere and symmetrical, with adjoining cloisters surrounding a tranquil garden, and a combination of Romanesque and late-Gothic architecture, including ornate columns and pillars adorned with sculptures of biblical scenes and figures of saints. An additional highlight is the Chapter House, a long medieval hall with a vaulted ceiling, where a series of Gobelin tapestries are displayed.

• The Church of St. Trophime is an important pilgrimage site, which sits along the Via Tolosana, or Arles Route, to Santiago de Compostela.

• It’s free to visit the church itself, but there is a small fee to access the cloisters, which often hosts special exhibitions and temporary displays.

• The church is accessible for wheelchairs and strollers.

The Church of St. Trophime is located on Place de la République in the heart of Arles’ Old Town, and is easily reached on foot from most central attractions. There are also buses along Boulevard Georges Clemenceau, just to the south of the square (about a 5-minute walk), and free Hopla! bicycle shuttles run throughout the Old Town.

The church is open daily year-round, and mass is held daily, though times vary throughout the year, so it’s best to check the times posted on the door. Note that the church is typically closed for a couple of hours in the early afternoon.

The Arles Route, or Via Tolosana, is one of the four Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes that run from France to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in northwestern Spain, the famous pilgrimage site where the apostle St. James is buried. Starting out from Arles, the ancient route crosses the Mediterranean and Atlantic Pyrenees, passing through Montpellier, Castres, Toulouse, Auch, Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Jaca, and other destinations in an epic, roughly 620-mile (1,000-kilometer) hike. The Church of St. Trophime is one of many sacred monuments along the way where hikers can stamp their pilgrim passports.