Arcole was one of five second-rank, 90-gun, steam-powered Algésiras-class ships of the line built for the French Navy in the 1850s.

The ships displaced 5,121 tonnes (5,040 long tons) and had a draught of 8.45 metres (27 ft 9 in) at deep load.

[1] The primary difference between Napoléon and the Algésiras class was that the boilers of the latter ships were moved forward of the engines.

Arcole was powered by a pair of four-cylinder horizontal-return connecting-rod steam engines that drove the single propeller shaft using steam provided by eight boilers.

On the quarterdeck and forecastle were twenty 30-pounder cannon and a pair of 163 mm (6.4 in) rifled muzzle-loading guns.