Cryptoportiques

The origins of these fascinating underground chambers, now sitting below the current city center, go at least back to the first Roman colony in Arles in 46 BCE, and most likely extend to much older Greek caverns. It's a wonderfully literal 2000-year excursion to take the stairs from the gleaming administrative heart of modern Arles, down to three vaulted chambers that may have housed shops or storage cellars under the Roman forum.