Arles • La Roquette • The sailors’ quarter

La Casa di Gena

An authentic Arlesian home,
renovated with respect for tradition

A welcoming, lively and unique home,
where family can come together in the heart of Arles.

An upside-down house, rich in history

Ancient stone,
with a contemporary restoration

This typical Arlesian home has lived through countless stories, including the filming of Julian Schnabel’s Van Gogh film At Eternity’s Gate (2018). Renovated with a local architect and my father, an electrician (insulation and air conditioning), it has retained its original character: exposed-beam ceilings, encaustic tiles and walls of Gard stone.

The house spans three levels and follows the “upside-down house” principle, designed to make the most of light and coolness: the bedrooms are on the lower floors, while the living area occupies the top floor and opens directly onto the terrace.

Flooded with light, this spacious room brings together the kitchen, dining area and living room, with a wood-burning stove. It opens onto a lovely shaded terrace and continues into a mezzanine with a queen-size futon (160 cm) on traditional tatami.

Old beams, pale stone and encaustic tiles in the living area — A welcoming space to enjoy in every season, kept at a comfortable temperature by the air conditioning.

A detail of the home’s natural materials — A restoration that honours the original materials.

A family
home
in Arles

Three levels, a thousand ways to be together

The rooms

The house unfolds as you climb
towards the light.

SECOND FLOOR

Life up high

Living and dining area with a wood-burning stove and air conditioning, open kitchen, mezzanine with a 160 cm futon on traditional tatami, and shaded terrace.

Open kitchen overlooking the terrace — The open kitchen overlooks the terrace and is fully equipped: dishwasher, washing machine, induction hob, ovens and more.

Terrasse with retractable awning — Terrace with an easy-to-open awning.

Breakfast and aperitifs on the terrace — Enjoy breakfast and aperitifs on the terrace, with no overlooking neighbours.

Living room with fireplace — Air-conditioned living room in summer, cosy by the fireplace in winter.

View from the mezzanine and futon — View from the mezzanine, furnished with a 160 cm futon on traditional tatami.

A Japanese-style bed beneath the stars — The perfect place to sleep Japanese-style, beneath the stars.

Large bookcase with art, photography and young readers’ books — A rich selection of art and photography books, along with plenty of titles for children and teens.

FIRST FLOOR

The bedrooms

Large bathroom with shower, separate toilet, dormitory bedroom (4 beds, sofa, desk and air conditioning), plus a second bedroom with a queen-size bed (160 cm).

Dormitory bedroom with custom-made beds — Dormitory bedroom with beds custom-made by an Arles carpenter.

Air-conditioned sleeping area with beds and sofa bed — Air-conditioned sleeping area with four single beds, a double bedroom (160 cm bed) and a single sofa bed.

Dormitory bedroom alcoves — Alcoves that offer privacy.

Passage between the dormitory and double bedroom — The dormitory bedroom connects to a spacious double bedroom.

Bright double bedroom with a 160 cm bed — Bright, separate double bedroom with a 160 cm bed.

Bed with new base and mattress — Quality bedding, with a new bed base and mattress.

Bluetooth speaker in a room — Every room has a quality Bluetooth speaker.

View from the double bedroom towards the dormitory and desk — From the double bedroom, you can see the dormitory and its desk.

Bathroom with large shower and separate toilet — Large bathroom with a spacious walk-in shower and separate toilet.

GROUND FLOOR

Summer lounge and master suite

Summer lounge, spacious bedroom with a queen-size bed (160 cm) and desk, and bathroom with toilet.

Master suite with furnished lounge area — Master suite with a furnished lounge area (coffee machine, kettle, record player and smart TV), wonderfully cool throughout the summer.

Summer lounge on the ground floor — The house has two living rooms: one on the ground floor (pictured here) and the other on the upper terrace level.

Master bedroom with shower and toilet — Master bedroom with walk-in shower and toilet.

New bed with linen included — Quality bedding: new bed base, mattress and pillows. Household linen is provided.

Desk in the master suite — The master suite has a desk.

Bathroom with shower and toilet. The house has two bathrooms and two toilets.

Just around the corner

Peace and quiet, with everything close by

Easy to reach: a 22-minute walk from the station, or 5 minutes by bike taxi, Taco and Co — which can carry two people and their luggage. If you arrive by car, you can drop your bags at the door, then park in the public car park two minutes away.

At home: fibre-optic Wi-Fi, board games, music in every room, sun loungers and darts on the terrace.

The street is quiet, with a climbing pompom rose and a perennial vine. Everything is within walking distance.

05 min

Le Fournil de la Roquette (the best bread in Arles)

08 min

Acte Sud — bookshop, hammam, cinema and tajine

09 min

Espace Van Gogh

10 min

Museum of Ancient Arles — Gallo-Roman river barge and bust of Caesar

11 min

Town Hall / Forum Square

Take your time, then explore further

Experience Arles
and explore the region

Our little rituals

Dinner at L’Epicier moderne on Place Paul Doumer · lunch with the children at O Jinko for an affordable mafé · enjoy a spectacular view of the amphitheatre over a vegetarian platter at Oboulaba and stroll through the Saturday market, stopping for cheese from Mas du Trident…

Further afield: the Camargue, from Saintes-Maries to Piémanson, the Alpilles or Marseille by train.

Camargue horses — Between 3,000 and 4,000 horses live in the Camargue. These perform at the Camarkas equestrian theatre.

Camargue salt flats — Between 340,000 and 450,000 tonnes of sea salt are produced at the Salin-de-Giraud salt flats, for use in snow clearing.

Camargue bull — Bulls live on manades (ranches), watched over by mounted gardians. There are 150 manades in the Camargue.

A Camargue manade farmhouse — A manade farmhouse often has a storage area or stable next to the house, topped by a hayloft.

Birds in the Camargue wetlands — The Camargue is France’s leading birdwatching site: nearly 400 bird species have been recorded here, 132 of them nesting.

The western beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a vast stretch of open sand edged by dunes, known for its waves, sunsets and wild atmosphere.

Sea at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer — The Brise de Mer website rated the western beach at Saintes-Maries “Excellent” for 2024, based on tests carried out from 2021 to 2024.

Church in La Roquette — The tastiest vegetables grow at the foot of the churches in La Roquette.

Eyguières in November, in the Alpilles — In November, in the Alpilles Regional Natural Park, temperatures can still reach 25°C at the massif’s highest point (498 m).

Fort Saint-Jean at the entrance to Marseille’s Old Port — An ancient fortress at the entrance to Marseille’s Old Port, Fort Saint-Jean is now part of Mucem. It was built under Louis XIV to keep watch over the city. It is less than an hour from Arles by train.

Marseille and its coastline — The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (Mucem) was the first major French national museum to open outside Paris. It is an hour from Arles by train.

Mucem terrace in July — On the roof of Mucem, La Terrasse serves Mediterranean street food conceived by Marseille-based three-Michelin-star chef Alexandre Mazzia. Beneath Rudy Ricciotti’s concrete lattice, in the full sun, enjoy a concise menu of wonderfully fresh dishes.

Horses on Piémanson beach — On Piémanson beach, often called “Arles beach”, Camargue horses can be admired even in December, when this photo was taken and temperatures were close to 20°C.

Piémanson beach in December — Between land and sky, mountain bikers and paramotor pilots enjoy the mild winter: December temperatures are pleasant, between 18 and 20°C.

In summer, the Ancient Theatre of Arles offers artists from around the world one of the most evocative stages anywhere.

View of the historic centre from Trinquetaille in December — From Trinquetaille, on the right bank of the Rhône, admire the historic centre—where the house is located—just across the bridge.

Spring

Arles Drawing Festival
Easter Feria
Gardians’ Festival — when Camargue horses take over the city
Jazz in Arles

Summer

Autumn

Winter

International Santon Fair
Traditional Christmas markets
Arles se livre — February literary festival
Winter at Méjan (classical music concerts, readings and exhibitions)
Merino sheep transhumance

Day by day

Life at home
and in Arles, every day

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