Arc de triomphe and Unité d’habitation Marseille

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Arc de triomphe

   Orange is a Provençal town of thirty thousand on the edge of the Rhône plain, and it has two of the finest Roman monuments in Europe. The first is the triumphal arch, standing on the old Via Agrippa at the northern entrance to the town, built in the time of Augustus and later dedicated to Tiberius. It is covered in carved reliefs of battles, naval trophies and captured Gauls, celebrating the victories of the legions, and despite two thousand years of wind and traffic, the carvings remain impressive. The second is the Roman theatre, with its stage wall still standing intact, more than a hundred metres long and over thirty high. Louis XIV is said to have called it the finest wall in his kingdom. In summer, the theatre hosts the Chorégies, an opera festival with performances under the stars. Both monuments were listed by UNESCO in 1981.

   Read the complete Arc de triomphe write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Arc de triomphe is where the day begins. Next is Pont du Gard.

2. 2. Pont du Gard

   Built without mortar, three tiers of arches carry a water channel across the gorge of the Gardon nearly fifty metres above the river, and the stones still fit together as if they had been placed last week. The Pont du Gard was one section of an aqueduct some fifty kilometres long that brought spring water from near Uzès to Roman Nîmes in the first century, with a total drop of only a few metres over the whole distance. It is a masterpiece of surveying as much as building, and it has stood through floods that have destroyed far younger bridges.

   Read the complete Pont du Gard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Pont du Gard comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Arles.

3. 3. Arles

   Arles is where the Rhône splits in two and the Camargue begins, and for more than two thousand years it has been a city of power, art and sun. The Romans made it one of the great cities of Gaul, building an amphitheatre that still hosts events, a theatre, baths and an underground gallery, the cryptoportiques, and the Roman and Romanesque monuments of Arles are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Romanesque church of Saint-Trophime, with its carved portal and cloister, is one of the finest in Provence.

   Read the complete Arles write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 84 km into the recorded legs you reach Arles. Next is Unité d’habitation Marseille.

4. 4. Unité d’habitation Marseille

   Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, finished in 1952 and known locally as the Cité Radieuse, or sometimes, less kindly, as the maison du fada, the madman's house, is a long concrete slab on stilts, raised above a park on the Boulevard Michelet. It contains around 330 apartments of different sizes, interlocking in section like pieces of a puzzle, with internal streets, a small hotel, a restaurant and, on the roof, a terrace with a children's pool, a gym and a view over the city and the sea. It was meant as a vertical village, and people still live in it.

   Read the complete Unité d’habitation Marseille write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Unité d’habitation Marseille, about halfway. Next is back through Arles.

5. 5. back through Arles

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Arles write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Arles sits at 249 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pont du Gard.

6. 6. back through Pont du Gard

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Pont du Gard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Pont du Gard comes up about 323 km into the recorded legs. Next is Arc de triomphe.

7. 7. Arc de triomphe

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Arc de triomphe write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Arc de triomphe closes the day.