Superconducting Josephson junction arrays (JJAs) are prototypical systems consisting of an array of superconducting islands connected by small Josephson junctions which provide an explicit realization of the canonical XY model of condensed matter physics.In this study we show how circuit quantumelectrodynamics (QED) techniques, perfected for implementing high-quality quantum bits, enable the exploration of new high-frequency regimes of JJAs.By making use of extremely low excitation power and heating of the array, we can probe physics of these systems using one single photon on average.