Café Van Gogh in Arles today
The real place, the yellow facade, the tourist decor and all the differences with it Café terrace in the evening : a guide to looking at the Place du Forum without confusing painting, memory and reconstruction.
Situation in 2026
The terrace and the facade remain visible from Place du Forum, but don't plan your visit like a restaurant reservation. The establishment was closed for legal reasons in July 2023 and recent sources consulted in 2026 indicate that it is still closed. The heritage site, the square and the viewpoint remain accessible free of charge.
Yes, Van Gogh painted a terrace on Forum Square - no, the yellow café has not remained intact since 1888
The best way to understand the place is to think of it as one transformed memory site, and not as a miraculously preserved historical setting.
The scientific edition of Van Gogh's letters identifies the subject as the Grand Café du Forum, on the Forum Square. The Kroeller-Müller Museum preserves the work under the title Terrace of a Café at Night (Place du Forum). This general location is therefore solidly documented.
On the other hand, the yellow facade, the awnings bearing the name Van Gogh, the furniture and the appearance very close to a postcard were created much later. Photographs from 1990 still show, in the same sector of the square, a different storefront. The commercial transformation of the 1990s and 2000s deliberately brought the building closer to the painted image.
What's really left of Van Gogh's coffee?
A decor designed to be recognized
Lemon yellow, blinds, the "Café Van Gogh" sign and the outdoor furniture produce an immediate resemblance. This recognition is effective, but it reverses the historical process: it was not only Van Gogh who painted the coffee, it was also modern coffee which was repainted after Van Gogh.
A painting of light, not an architect's statement
Van Gogh works on site and in the dark. He observes the gas, passers-by and stars, but he organizes the street like a large diagonal flow. The shapes are simplified, the proportions accentuated and the color intensified.
See reproductionThe painting and Café Van Gogh today
The terrace occupies the left edge, the street draws the eye towards the background and the sky closes the composition with a saturated blue.
The yellow facade dominates more, the awnings are wider and the electric light makes the atmosphere more uniform.
The color of the walls
Today the walls are actually yellow. In the work, yellow mainly describes a bath of artificial light.
The depth
Van Gogh lengthens the street and accelerates the perspective to lead the gaze towards the silhouettes in the background.
The sky
The painted blue is much denser than the current urban sky, brightened by city lights.
The marquise
The canopy of the painting forms a large oblique ceiling; contemporary blinds have a different structure and rhythm.
A transformation in five dates
Van Gogh paints at night
Around September 16, he installed his equipment on the square and observed the terrace under gas lighting.
The facade is even different
A photograph shows a discreet business, without the large yellow envelope that defines the image of the place today.
The painting becomes a model
The building is restored and repainted to produce a more immediate resemblance to the famous work.
Ensign Van Gogh stands out
The café becomes an international tourist attraction, photographed as a reconstruction of the canvas.
Closure of the business
Closed for legal reasons since July 2023, the establishment nevertheless remains a stop on the Van Gogh route.
Eight differences to observe on site
Yellow is a light
The wall, floor and awning merge into the gas halo. The current facade transforms this luminous effect into permanent color.
The night contains almost no black
Blues, purples, greens and oranges replace descriptive black. The hot-cold contrast builds the space.
The street is dramatized
The cobblestones widen in the foreground and then converge quickly. The real perspective seems less dizzying.
The coffee is cut by the frame
Van Gogh does not show a complete facade. This lateral framing gives the impression of entering a scene that has already begun.
The characters are rhythms
The white waiter, customers and passers-by are not portraits: they chant areas of light and depth.
The stars are observed
The sky is not an arbitrary decoration. The museum highlights the precision of the constellations corresponding to the night of September 16 or 17.
The awkward details disappear
Neighboring Roman remains do not become the subject. Van Gogh selects what reinforces the terrace, the street and the sky.
The current atmosphere is more touristy
Signs, furniture, electric lighting and visitor flow create a very different experience from the night square of 1888.
Real photos of Café Van Gogh and Place du Forum
Understanding architecture
Daylight makes it possible to distinguish the facades, balconies, Roman remains and the true width of the square.
The best time to compare
The sky still retains blue as the lamps become visible. This is the balance closest to the chromatic logic of the painting.
Measure the difference
The electric light, signs and urban sky show how Van Gogh concentrated the stage around yellow and blue.
How to find Van Gogh's point of view?
Arrive at Place du Forum
From Place de la République, reach Place du Forum via the streets of the historic center. The yellow facade can be seen immediately.
Do not stay in front of the café
Back towards the northeast corner of the square. Van Gogh looked south, towards Rue du Palais.
Compare the diagonals
Observe the edge of the terrace, the line of the cobblestones, the narrow passage and the way the buildings close the perspective.
Return to blue hour
Come thirty to forty minutes after sunset: enough blue in the sky, but already artificial lights.
Three places in Arles not to be confused
Café terrace in the evening
An outdoor stage: terrace, street, passers-by and starry sky. This is the subject of this article.
See the work
The Night Café
A red and green interior with billiards, run by Joseph and Marie Ginoux. The building disappeared after the bombings of 1944.
Read analysis
The Yellow House
Van Gogh's accommodation and workshop was opposite the Café de la Gare. It too was destroyed after the bombings.
Read the guideWhere to see the original painting?
Kroeller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
The oil on canvas measures 80.7 × 65.3 cm. The museum dates it to around September 16, 1888 and highlights the contrast between the yellow-orange gas and the blue of the sky.
Official sheet
The painting travels to Japan
As of July 18, 2026, the original is not visible in Otterlo: it is on loan for a major exhibition in Japan. His return is announced for the September 16, 2026. It then appears in Van Gogh, All Our Paintings, from September 15, 2026 to January 3, 2027.
Museum guideThe Van Gogh collections of the store
Café Van Gogh in Arles today
Is today's Café Van Gogh the real café painted by Van Gogh?
Van Gogh did paint a terrace identified as the Grand Café du Forum, on the Place du Forum. However, the current yellow café has not remained an intact setting since 1888: its facade and visual identity were transformed much later to resemble the painting.
Why is coffee painted yellow today?
The color yellow was chosen to make the place immediately recognizable to visitors. In the painting, yellow is mainly an effect of gas lighting, intensified by its contrast with the blue of the night.
Is Café Van Gogh open in 2026?
Recent sources consulted on July 18, 2026 further report the establishment closed after a judicial closure in July 2023. The facade, terrace and square remain visible from public spaces.
Where exactly is Café Van Gogh in Arles?
It is located at 11, place du Forum, in the historic center of Arles. The point of comparison with the painting is located in a distance, towards the north-east corner of the square, looking towards rue du Palais.
When is the best time to photograph the place?
The blue hour, approximately thirty to forty minutes after sunset, allows you to simultaneously obtain blue skies and artificial lights. Morning is best for understanding architecture without crowds.
Did Van Gogh paint the picture on the spot?
Yes. The Kroeller-Müller indicates that he worked on site and in the dark, an unusual method that allowed him to directly observe color transformations under gas lighting.
Does Café de nuit represent the same establishment?
No. The Night Café shows the interior of Café de la Gare, Place Lamartine. Café terrace in the evening represents an outdoor terrace on the Place du Forum.
Where is the original painting located?
The original belongs to the Kroeller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands. It is on loan to Japan during the summer of 2026 and its return to the museum is announced for September 16, 2026.
Is the arrangement of the stars accurate?
The museum points out that astronomical research has found a layout corresponding to the sky of September 16 or 17, 1888. Van Gogh transforms the colors, but his nocturnal observation remains precise.
How much time should you allow on the Forum square?
Twenty to thirty minutes are enough to compare the painting and the point of view. Allow two hours to integrate the place into a route including the Rhône, Espace Van Gogh, the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and Place Lamartine.
- Kroeller-Müller Museum - Terrace of a Café at Night : date, dimensions, technique, palette and schedule of the loan.
- Vincent van Gogh - letter 678 to Willemien : description of the night and identification of the Grand Café du Forum.
- Arles Tourist Office - In the footsteps of Van Gogh : Place du Forum and urban circuit.
- Kroeller-Müller - Van Gogh, All Our Paintings : exhibition from September 15, 2026 to January 3, 2027.
- Le Monde - investigation into the brewery : commercial transformation and judicial closure.
Forum Square, day view - Isiwal, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Van Gogh Cafe at dusk - Palickap, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Forum Square at night - Pieter van Everdingen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
.jpg){kind=link}
Place du Forum in 1990 - Rolf Süssbrich, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Café Van Gogh in 2003 - Janderk, public domain.
Work of Vincent van Gogh: public domain. Photographs and reproduction files follow the credits indicated by their sources.
0 comments