We’re big fans of Provence here at Secret Trips, but we’re bigger fans of a particular city in the province. When the Secret Trips team talk about Arles, we do so in a hushed whisper. Get us going and you’ll hear endless glassy-eyed reveries about staying at L’Hôtel Particulier with its aristocratic swimming pool, and long lazy afternoons sitting in the square outside the Nord-Pinus, drinking rosé so pale and dry that it’s just a whisper on the tongue. Arles is in the South of France, of course, but don’t come here thinking that it’s anything like La Croisette. You don’t come here dripping in diamonds, all clutch bags and killer heels. This is a place where understatement rules. Arles, after all, plays host every year to Les Rencontres d’Arles, one of the most garlanded photography festivals in the world. The crowd is arty, smart, considered. Pack your architectural cuts, and max-out on the Margaret Howell.
