Senior School News
Classics Trip to Provence
The Classics Department invite girls to spend six days in Roman Provence.
Dates: Tuesday 21 October to Sunday 26 October (Half Term)
Cost: £475
Open to all girls throughout the school, from Lower IV to Upper VI. The trip is organised by the Classics Department, but ALL girls in the school will be welcome.
We fly to Marseilles and stay in a hotel in Arles (half board).
If you would like to join us, please send your booking form and £150 deposit to me.
J S Morris (Mrs)
Head of Classics
The trip is organized with the specialist travel company, NST. If you have Powerpoint on your computer, you can download and view their presentation about Provence.
The planned itinerary for our 6-Day Inclusive Classical Studies Tour by Air is as follows:
Day 1: Travel
Flight to France. Coach transfer to your hotel in Arles for check-in. Subject to flight times, free time for a walk into Arles for initial exploration of this World Heritage site, prior to your evening meal (first meal included).
Day 2: Les Baux de Provence & Avignon
Morning visit to the 10th century citadel fortress of Les Baux de Provence perched high on top of a cliff. Walk through the narrow twisting streets of the village to the castle museum and see the medieval siege machinery dating back some 900 years. Continue to St-Remy-de-Provence, birthplace of Nostradamus and where Van Gogh produced a number of his most famous works. Close by, set in superb scenery, is the 2,500 year old Roman settlement of Glanum with temples and houses in a remarkable state of preservation. A visit can be made to the museum, which exhibits town plans, scale models and pictorial reconstructions of the settlement, further aiding student understanding. In the afternoon continue travel to Avignon, city of the popes and made famous in the nursery rhyme with dancing on its bridge. Time permitting optional visits can be made to the square keep of Philip the Fair and the round bastion of St André's Fort, protectors of the old cardinals' city, Villeneuve-lés-Avignon, with time spent exploring the great white stone palace of the Palais de Papes (Palace of Popes).
Day 3: Nîmes & Pont du Gard
Full day visit to Nîmes and the Pont du Gard. Walk through the old part of the city of Nîmes starting at La Maison Carree , one of the best preserved and most elegant temples with a impressive 3D show tracing the history of Nîmes. Continue to visit the fountain gardens, containing Temple of Diana and the Tour Magne, providing excellent views of the city. Continue on foot through the old part of Nîmes with its narrow lanes, old houses and mansions, and newly opened shops in a pedestrian precinct. Recommended visit to the Castellum, the water distribution tower which provided the city's water supply, affirming its prestige. Finish at the 20,000 seat Arena - the best preserved in the Roman world. Continue to the Pont du Gard, to view the Roman aqueduct a prestigious and impressive example of the architectural accomplishment of the Roman Empire, set in 165 hectares of Mediterranean countryside. Continue for a recommended visit to the exceptional on-site interactive museum featuring a wide range of displays for students to explore and enjoy with models, full scale replicas, maps, multi-screen images, video and sound archives.
Day 4: Vaison-la-Romaine & Orange
Morning visit to Vaison-la-Romaine which provides an opportunity to gain an understanding of Roman civilisation in Provence. The town site is divided by the green waters of the River Ouvéze, spanned since Roman times by a high single arched stone bridge, unaltered except for repairs to the parapet in the 19C. Afternoon visit to explore Orange, where two monuments, a theatre and a commemorative arch are all that now stands of the proud Roman city of Arausio (now Orange), which numbered 80-90,000 inhabitants. Visit the theatre, known as the most beautiful and best preserved Roman Theatre in existence. The other buildings have to be imagined from excavated foundations and incomplete remains.
Day 5: Arles
The day is spent on foot in Arles. The most conspicuous monuments of the Roman period are the amphitheatre, theatre, forum, temples, and the Baths of Constantine and the Alyscamps - one of the most beautiful Roman cemeteries. Opportunity for students to also observe the Crytoporticus and Cloisters providing excellent examples of medieval architecture and sculpture. An optional visit can be made to the Museum of Ancient Arles, which chronicles Arles in its heyday, from the development of its monuments to details of daily life in Roman times.
Day 6: Return Travel
Depart after breakfast (last meal included). Subject to flight timings, free time prior to the transfer to the airport for the return flight to Britain.
