Bouches-du-Rhône is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution in 1790. It was created from part of the province of Provence and the principalities of Orange, Martigues and Lambesc. The department is part of the current region of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. It lost part of its territory in 1793 when the
Vaucluse department was created. The history of the area is closely linked to that of Provence; Marseille has been an important harbor since before Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. The Roman presence has left numerous monuments across the department. Marseille was recently ranked second in the world for work-life balance with an average of 31.48 working hours per week in a study by Holland and Barrett. It is surrounded by the departments of Gard on the west, Vaucluse on the north, and
Var on the east, and by the Mediterranean Sea on the south.
The department is well represented in French art. Paul Cézanne painted numerous representations of the Mont Sainte-Victoire. Vincent van Gogh spent much of his life in Arles, painting many scenes in the area.