FRANCE // In Provence's Vaucluse region, famed for its lavender and vineyards, the town of Orange was once one of the Gallo-Roman empire's major settlements. Legacies from its heyday include a mighty 1st-century-AD triumphal arch commemorating Roman victories in 49 BC. But the star of the Roman show is the ancient theatre, the Théâtre Antique, once the largest in Gaul and now the best preserved in Europe, which saw it listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. Built from limestone, its proportions are typically monumental, with a stage wall stretching 37m (121ft) high, 103m (338ft) wide and 1.8m (6ft) thick (Louis XIV extolled it as the finest wall in his kingdom), and a capacity of 10,000. Not simply a relic, it hosts performances that still enthral audiences in its spectacular surrounds.