Why this ride
363 km from Orange to Orange, about 5 h 28 of riding. The stops in between: Pont du Gard, Arles, Unité d’habitation Marseille and back through Arles. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Théâtre antique and Unité d’habitation Marseille
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 363 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 28
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Théâtre antique
The Théâtre antique d'Orange is one of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere, and the thing that surprises people is the wall. The stage wall at the back, known as the scaenae frons, still stands to its full height of around thirty-six metres, a huge, sun-bleached cliff of stone that Louis XIV is supposed to have called the finest wall in his kingdom. Built in the early first century AD when Orange was the Roman colony of Arausio, the theatre could seat several thousand, and the acoustics are so good that it hosts the Chorégies d'Orange opera festival every summer, as it has for generations.
Read the complete Théâtre antique write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Théâtre antique is where the day begins. Next is Pont du Gard.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Théâtre antique.
7. Théâtre antique
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Théâtre antique write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Théâtre antique closes the day.
Leg by leg
Théâtre antique to Pont du Gard
Théâtre antique → Pont du Gard is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pont du Gard to Arles
Pont du Gard → Arles is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Arles to Unité d’habitation Marseille
Arles → Unité d’habitation Marseille is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Unité d’habitation Marseille to back through Arles
Unité d’habitation Marseille → back through Arles is 98 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Arles to back through Pont du Gard
back through Arles → back through Pont du Gard is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pont du Gard to Théâtre antique
back through Pont du Gard → Théâtre antique is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.