Follow in the Footsteps of Van Gogh This Year

The abundance of red poppies in Italy makes you feel as if you’re in a Van Gogh painting

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Follow in the Footsteps of Van Gogh This Year

Van Gogh is in the spotlight in the Dutch capital this year: the world-renowned Van Gogh Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary on 2nd June, while a new exhibition, 'Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: His Final Months' (the first exhibition devoted exclusively to works the artist produced in the last two months of his life) debuts a few weeks earlier, on 12th May.

One of the most renowned painters in European art history, Van Gogh was born 170 years ago, in 1853, and spent the first decades of his life in Holland and Belgium before heading south, first settling in Provence and then moving to Paris.

If you want to visit the places that inspired the great Impressionist you can trace Van Gogh's steps on a walking or cycling holiday. Discover three Van Gogh itineraries below.

Follow in the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh in Arles

Saint Paul de Mausole Asylum, Provence, where Van Gogh painted more than 150 pieces of art | <i>Rachel Imber</i>

A cafe in Arles reminding us of its most famous resident ever

Amsterdam to Brussels by Bike

A journey through rural vistas and quaint villages across Holland and Belgium, where the painter spent most of his life. Visit the famous Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (which houses the largest collection of artworks by the painter in the world), explore the Dutch province of Brabant (his birthplace, which inspired his early works) and discover Antwerp (where he was admitted at the Academy of Fine Arts), his last stop before moving to France.

>> View Amsterdam to Brussels by Bike

Cycling between the tulip fields in Holland | <i>Claire Droppert</i>

Provence - In Van Gogh's Footsteps

Van Gogh's time in Provence -- where he first arrived in early 1888 -- was the most productive period of painting in his life. Along footpaths dotted with cypress trees and lone chapels, this trip follows in his footsteps from St-Rémy to Les Baux-de-Provence and onto Arles. Highlights include the Saint-Paul de Mausole monastery (where Van Gogh painted 150 paintings in a year!) and the painter's much-loved second home, the city of Arles.

>> View Provence - In Van Gogh's Footsteps

Paris to Bruges Bike and Barge

Van Gogh spent his final months in rural Auvers-sur-Oise, just outside Paris, where he moved to be closer to his brother Theo. It was a highly productive period for the artist, who would often go out to the countryside to work in the open air. When you visit the town you can explore places such as Auberge Ravoux, where Van Gogh spent the last 70 days of his life, and Daubigny's Garden, which he painted three times, as well as the cemetery, where he is buried next to his brother.

>> View Paris to Bruges Bike and Barge