Van Gogh Foundation (Fondation Van Gogh Arles)

The Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles occupies a historic townhouse, the Hôtel Léautaud de Donines, at 35 ter rue du Docteur-Fanton in the old centre of Arles. The foundation opened its public museum there in 2014 and has a particular mission: it does not try to show a permanent hoard of Van Gogh's paintings. Instead it invites contemporary artists to respond to him, and it regularly brings a Van Gogh work on loan to hang alongside their pieces, so that his time in the city is read through living art rather than shrine-like reverence.

The link to the city is real. Van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888 and stayed until May 1889, one of the most productive stretches of his short career. He painted the sunflowers, the bedroom, the cafe terrace by night, the starry sky over the Rhône and the orchards in bloom, and he rented the Yellow House on place Lamartine, hoping to found a community of artists. That house no longer exists, since it was destroyed in the bombing of 1944, but the square remains. Visitors can also see the Espace Van Gogh, the former hospital where he was treated, now with a garden restored to look as he painted it.

Inside the foundation, the rooms are lit and arranged for shows that change through the year. Each exhibition has its own theme, linking a modern or living artist to Van Gogh's preoccupations: colour, landscape, the rural world, the figure in a room, or the fragility of mind and body. This makes the visit different each season, and also means the museum is smaller than the major Van Gogh institutions elsewhere. Plan a visit of about an hour and a half.

The foundation sits among a group of cultural venues in Arles, including the Musée Réattu, which holds modern art and a set of Picasso drawings, and the large LUMA complex. It combines naturally with a walk to the Théâtre Antique d'Arles and the Arles Amphitheatre, both a short distance away, and with the Church of St. Trophime and its carved cloister.

This suits visitors who want Van Gogh without queues and who enjoy contemporary art in a historic setting. Tickets and combined passes change, so check the current rates and hours on the museum's own website before you go.