{"id":12003,"date":"2026-09-21T21:23:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T21:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/?p=12003"},"modified":"2026-09-22T10:08:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T10:08:41","slug":"visit-luma-arles-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sunday at LUMA Arles: lunch, exhibitions and the bookshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi everyone! Shall we talk about LUMA Arles?
Greg and I went on a Sunday, planning to have lunch and see whatever exhibitions were on. We ended up staying for the entire day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had already seen the tower in photos hundreds of times, but in real life it is even stranger. Depending on where you stand, it never quite looks the same. Sometimes it shines intensely, sometimes it seems almost grey. I still don't know whether I find it beautiful, but it intrigues me, and that's precisely why I like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving at LUMA Arles on a Sunday<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Frank Gehry\u2019s tower stands in the middle of the former Parc des Ateliers, but it is only part of the place. There are old industrial buildings, gardens, outdoor artworks and several exhibition spaces. We walked for hours and wandered into almost everything without following much of a route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"LUMA\u2019s<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Monumental<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Grand<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I took far too many photographs of the tower, mostly through the trees and from the park. The reflections on the metal and the shifting light worked beautifully with my Fujifilm. I could shoot the same building ten times and come away with ten different images. I had felt something similar while exploring the inside of a duplex at the Cit\u00e9 Radieuse<\/a> : you understand a building far better once you can actually move through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lunch at the Drum Caf\u00e9<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We began with lunch at the Drum Caf\u00e9. The room is enormous, with concrete everywhere and books lining the space. Naturally, before the food had even arrived, I was already studying the covers and type on the shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Lunch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Sunday<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Art<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

J\u2019y suis revenue plusieurs mois plus tard, seule cette fois, pour travailler toute une journ\u00e9e au Drum Caf\u00e9. Je vous ferais un article \u00e0 part pour mieux vous raconter ! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibitions we saw that day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After lunch, we saw the David Armstrong exhibition: black-and-white portraits, contact sheets and illuminated images in rooms that were almost completely dark. I loved the rhythm between glowing screens and photographic prints. It is one of the things I enjoy in museums such as Tate Modern in London<\/a> : you notice the work, but also the way it has been staged and revealed to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Black-and-white<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Black-and-white<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Photograph<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We also explored Hans Ulrich Obrist\u2019s archive devoted to Maria Lassnig. At first, I wasn\u2019t quite sure what to make of some of the paintings. The bodies are distorted, the colours can feel rather strange, and the work asks you to slow down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, I stayed in that section for ages. I\u2019ll share much more in a separate post about both exhibitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Large<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Archive<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And, inevitably, the bookshop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There was no chance I was leaving without visiting the bookshop. Art and design books are my weakness, especially when a cover has bold colour, confident type and the sort of production that makes you open it before deciding whether you actually need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Art<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Art,<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I nearly always buy three or four, although I do try to choose books I\u2019ll genuinely return to. I use them constantly when I\u2019m working on editorial design or art direction. A cover, colour combination or layout can spark an idea I would never have found while staring at a screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is LUMA worth a full day?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Absolutely. We arrived for lunch and a few exhibitions, then walked out at the end of the day wondering where the time had gone. Come without an overly tight plan: there is plenty of walking, and it is very easy to linger in a gallery or the bookshop for much longer than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Places like this inevitably feed into my work. When I\u2019m creating a website for a hotel, restaurant or cultural venue with Minuit d\u2019Orsay<\/a>, I look for the detail that makes somebody want to walk through the real door: a colour, photograph, typeface or small visual cue that stays with them. If your website still doesn\u2019t capture what people discover when they visit you, you can tell me about your project here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LUMA Arles<\/strong>
Parc des Ateliers
35 Avenue Victor Hugo, 13200 Arles
Opening times, access and current programme on the official website<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A whole Sunday at LUMA Arles with Greg: lunch at the Drum Caf\u00e9, the David Armstrong and Maria Lassnig exhibitions, the park and the bookshop.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[1502,1505,1482,1506,1504,1503,1508,1501,1507],"class_list":["post-12003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-arles","tag-art-contemporain","tag-culturehome","tag-david-armstrong","tag-drum-cafe","tag-frank-gehry","tag-librairie-design","tag-luma-arles","tag-maria-lassnig"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVisiter LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"J\u2019ai pass\u00e9 un dimanche entier \u00e0 LUMA Arles avec Greg : tour de Frank Gehry, d\u00e9jeuner au Drum Caf\u00e9, expositions et librairie. Voici mon avis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/news\/culture\/visit-luma-arles-reviews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Visiter LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"J\u2019ai pass\u00e9 un dimanche entier \u00e0 LUMA Arles avec Greg : tour de Frank Gehry, d\u00e9jeuner au Drum Caf\u00e9, expositions et librairie. Voici mon avis.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/news\/culture\/visit-luma-arles-reviews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tamara Chaudesaigues\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-21T21:23:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-22T10:08:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tamara\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tamara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tamara\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7490d7d0e85506e957bd4687ec894a87\"},\"headline\":\"Un dimanche \u00e0 LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-21T21:23:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-22T10:08:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":841,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Arles\",\"art contemporain\",\"culturehome\",\"David Armstrong\",\"Drum Caf\u00e9\",\"Frank Gehry\",\"librairie design\",\"LUMA Arles\",\"Maria Lassnig\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/\",\"name\":\"Visiter LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-21T21:23:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-22T10:08:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7490d7d0e85506e957bd4687ec894a87\"},\"description\":\"J\u2019ai pass\u00e9 un dimanche entier \u00e0 LUMA Arles avec Greg : tour de Frank Gehry, d\u00e9jeuner au Drum Caf\u00e9, expositions et librairie. Voici mon avis.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"\u0152uvre rose monumentale entour\u00e9e de v\u00e9g\u00e9tation dans le parc de LUMA Arles\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/actualites\\\/culture\\\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Un dimanche \u00e0 LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tamara Chaudesaigues\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7490d7d0e85506e957bd4687ec894a87\",\"name\":\"Tamara\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Visiting LUMA Arles: exhibitions, lunch and the bookshop","description":"I spent a whole Sunday at LUMA Arles with Greg, from Frank Gehry\u2019s tower and lunch at the Drum Caf\u00e9 to the exhibitions and bookshop. Here\u2019s what I thought.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/news\/culture\/visit-luma-arles-reviews\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Visiter LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie","og_description":"J\u2019ai pass\u00e9 un dimanche entier \u00e0 LUMA Arles avec Greg : tour de Frank Gehry, d\u00e9jeuner au Drum Caf\u00e9, expositions et librairie. Voici mon avis.","og_url":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/news\/culture\/visit-luma-arles-reviews\/","og_site_name":"Tamara Chaudesaigues","article_published_time":"2026-09-21T21:23:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-22T10:08:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tamara","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tamara","Estimated reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/"},"author":{"name":"Tamara","@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7490d7d0e85506e957bd4687ec894a87"},"headline":"Un dimanche \u00e0 LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie","datePublished":"2026-09-21T21:23:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-22T10:08:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/"},"wordCount":841,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Arles","art contemporain","culturehome","David Armstrong","Drum Caf\u00e9","Frank Gehry","librairie design","LUMA Arles","Maria Lassnig"],"articleSection":["Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/","url":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/","name":"Visiting LUMA Arles: exhibitions, lunch and the bookshop","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-21T21:23:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-22T10:08:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7490d7d0e85506e957bd4687ec894a87"},"description":"I spent a whole Sunday at LUMA Arles with Greg, from Frank Gehry\u2019s tower and lunch at the Drum Caf\u00e9 to the exhibitions and bookshop. Here\u2019s what I thought.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/OEuvre-rose-en-plein-air-a-LUMA-Arles-scaled.jpg","width":1920,"height":2560,"caption":"\u0152uvre rose monumentale entour\u00e9e de v\u00e9g\u00e9tation dans le parc de LUMA Arles"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/actualites\/culture\/visiter-luma-arles-avis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Un dimanche \u00e0 LUMA Arles : d\u00e9jeuner, expositions et librairie"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/","name":"Tamara Chaudesaigues","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7490d7d0e85506e957bd4687ec894a87","name":"Tamara"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12003"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12114,"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12003\/revisions\/12114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamarachaudesaigues.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12003"}],"curies":[{"name":"WordPress","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}