Orange

The charming town of Orange is a typical Provencal village with pavement cafés, cosy streets and old squares, beautiful façade architecture and an urban environment with a fine selection of shops and inviting restaurants.

Every Thursday there is a pedestrian market in the town square and in July and August opera concerts are held at the amphitheatre, see the programme at www.choregies.asso.fr.

The city has a long history, dating back to 35 BC. Almost as old are its two main attractions - the amphitheatre Theatre Antique with the statue of the Emperor and the Arc de Triomphe. Both are understandably on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The finest wall in my kingdom, as Louis XIV referred to the back wall of the amphitheatre, is the best preserved of the theatres in the western part of the ancient Roman Empire. It seats 8,000-10,000 spectators and is still used for concerts because of its sublime acoustics. The Arc de Triomphe is almost a picture book with its numerous friezes and decorations telling of proud Roman victories on land and sea and, not least, of the defeated Gauls.