Thermes de l'Arles Antique

The Baths of Constantine, usually called the Thermes de Constantin, are the substantial remains of a large Roman bathhouse in Arles, on the right bank of the Rhône, close to the Musée Réattu. They date from the early fourth century, in the reign of the emperor Constantine, who stayed in Arles on several occasions and favoured the city, which was one of the major cities of the late Roman Empire in the West. The baths belonged to a district of imperial buildings, which probably included a palace, and they are the best-preserved part of the complex, listed with the other Roman and Romanesque monuments of Arles by UNESCO in 1981.

Roman baths were much more than places for washing. They were places for socialising, exercise and relaxation, with a sequence of rooms of different temperatures. What survives at Arles is mainly the hot room, the caldarium, a large semicircular hall with a high brick apse, the walls of which stand to a good height. The floor of the room was raised on small brick pillars, so that hot air from a furnace could circulate beneath it and warm the floor and walls, a heating system called a hypocaust, and the pillars and the channels can still be seen, which makes the baths one of the most readable examples of Roman heating technology in France. The thick walls, built of brick and stone, were designed to retain heat, and the vaulted rooms must have been steamy and echoing.

Other parts of the complex are less well preserved. Visitors can see the remains of the cold room, the frigidarium, and the rooms for warm bathing, as well as the foundations of the structures, and a restored wall and underground passages show the layout of the furnaces and the service corridors where slaves worked. The site is open air and compact, and the atmosphere is quiet, at some distance from the crowds that go to the amphitheatre.

The baths are open at set times that vary with the season, so check them before you go, and a combined ticket for several Roman monuments of Arles is usually available. A visit takes thirty minutes to an hour.

The baths suit lovers of Roman history and engineering, and they combine with the other monuments of the town, among them the Arles Amphitheatre, the Théâtre Antique and the Cryptoportique, as well as the Musée Départemental Arles Antique, which has Roman finds, including mosaics and sarcophagi. The Church of St. Trophime and the Musée Réattu, in the old town, are close.