Arles, France 3 Museum & Crypt

/ The Musée de l'Arles Antique primarily displays treasures from the Roman period of Arles with an excellent layout in a large building that opened in 1995. There are rows of marble sarcophagi, or tombs, of the Romans and early Christians, richly decorated with sculpture depicting religious scenes and daily life.
Elevated platforms enable you to look down on the large collection of mosaic floors from Roman homes that were all found in this area of course, and they reveal brilliant scenes created with thousands, perhaps millions, of tiny pieces of colored stones depicting sea creatures, the zodiac, nereids, the four seasons and realistic human portraits. A large, impressive 3-D model of Arles in ancient Roman times shows how the city covered all of today's historic center and demonstrates how sophisticated the buildings were. A detailed model of the arena shows how little it has changed over the millennia. Also on display are original glass works, tools, gold jewelry, small statues, and a nice lineup of busts of the various emperors, along with simpler artifacts dating back to the Stone Age.
These dramatic displays remind us that Arles was one of the largest economic centers in the Roman Empire, with a busy commercial harbor and an extensive urban core. Even then it was so valued as a place to stay that many Roman generals retired here and are buried in the Alyscamps cemetery along with hundreds of their soldiers, in the south part of town. Arles, in Provence, in the south of France.