Église St-Trophime

Arles was an archbishopric from the 4th century until 1790, and this Romanesque-style church was once a cathedral. Built in the late 11th and 12th centuries on the site of several earlier churches, it’s named after St Trophime, a late 2nd- or early 3rd-century bishop of Arles. If you look on the far right of the left-hand side of the western portal, you’ll see an intricately sculpted facade of biblical scenes (more spectacular than the interior), with St Trophime holding a spiral staff in his right hand. Inside the austere church, the most fascinating feature is the treasury, containing bone fragments of Arles’ bishops who were later canonised. Many of the statues inside were decapitated during the French Revolution.

Across the courtyard, the 12th- and 14th-century Cloître St-Trophime was built to accommodate the monks’ daily lives. It comprises a reading room, dormitory and dining room.