| At the back of the Réattu museum, lanterns line the river wall where Van Gogh used to wander, wearing candles on his hat, watching the night-time light: The Starry Night is the Rhône at Arles. Much of the riverfront and its bars and bistros were destroyed during World War II. Another casualty of the bombing was the "Yellow House" on place Lamartine, where the artist lived before entering the hospital at St-Rémy. However, the café painted in Café de Nuit still stands in place du Forum. Van Gogh had arrived by train in February 1888 to be greeted by snow and a bitter mistral wind. But he started painting straight away, and in this period produced such celebrated canvases as The Sunflowers, Van Gogh's Chair, The Red Vines and The Sower. Van Gogh found few kindred souls in Arles and finally managed to persuade Gauguin to join him in mid-autumn. Although the two were to influence each other substantially in the following weeks, their relationship quickly soured as the increasingly bad November weather forced them to spend more time together indoors. According to Gauguin, Van Gogh, feeling threatened by his friend's possible departure, finally succumbed to a fit of psychosis and attacked first Gauguin and then himself. He was packed off to the Hôtel-Dieu hospital on rue du Président-Wilson down from the Musée Arlaten, now the Espace Van Gogh, an academic and cultural centre with arty shops in its arcades and courtyard flowerbeds recreated according to Van Gogh's painting and descriptions of the hospital garden. Arles has none of the artist's works but the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh (June–Sept daily 9am–7pm; rest of year Tues–Sun 9am–noon & 2–6.30pm; €5), facing the Arènes at 26 Rond-Point des Arènes, exhibits works by contemporary artists inspired by Van Gogh, including Francis Bacon, Jasper Johns, Hockney and Lichtenstein. Alternate spellings:: Arles, Arle, arle, France, arlle, arlésienne, visiting, visitor, tourist, info, information
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