Avignon

For most of the fourteenth century Avignon was the seat of the papacy — seven popes, then two more during the Schism — and the Palais des Papes they built is the largest Gothic palace in the world, 15,000 m² of it inside a complete ring of ramparts. The city has been walled since 1355 and the walls are still there, which makes the centre unusually legible: everything is inside them, and the Rhône is on the other side.

The palace, the four surviving arches of the bridge in the song, and the fact that Avignon is the best rail-served base in Provence — Arles, Nîmes, the Pont du Gard, the Luberon and Mont Ventoux are all within an hour. In July the Festival d'Avignon takes over the entire city with around 1,500 shows, and the streets become the venue.

Vaucluse (84), Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

We already publish a full guide to Avignon — read it here →

Things to do

• Palais des Papes — The largest Gothic palace anywhere. Twenty-five rooms, an Histopad that reconstructs them, and the roof terrace.
• Pont Saint-Bénézet — Four arches of the twenty-two that once crossed the Rhône. The song is about dancing beside it, not on it.
• The Rocher des Doms — The garden above the palace, with the Rhône, the bridge and Mont Ventoux from the top. Free, and best at sunset.
• Les Halles — Forty stalls under a green wall. Saturday morning has a free cooking demonstration from a local chef.
• Collection Lambert — Contemporary art in two eighteenth-century hôtels particuliers — a serious collection, and a cool building in August.
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape — Fifteen kilometres north, where the popes planted their vineyard. The stones on the ground are the point.

Tickets & tours

Bookable now through our ticketing partner.

• Palace of the Popes & Gardens: Entry Ticket From £12.32 · 4.5/10

3 days in Avignon

1. Day 1 The popes

   Palais des Papes at opening with the Histopad, then the Petit Palais next door for the Italian primitives. Lunch at Les Halles. Afternoon on the bridge and up the Rocher des Doms for sunset. Dinner on Rue des Teinturiers.

2. Day 2 Rome and the Rhône

   Pont du Gard in the morning — 45 minutes by bus, and you can swim under it. Afternoon in Nîmes or back for the Collection Lambert. Evening ferry to the Barthelasse for the view.

3. Day 3 The Luberon

   With a car: Gordes, Sénanque abbey, Roussillon's ochre cliffs and the Valensole lavender if it is late June or July. Without: Arles by train in twenty minutes.

Practical

Best time to go

April–June and September–October. July is the festival — extraordinary, and the city is completely full. August is very hot. The mistral blows hardest in winter and spring and can be genuinely fierce here where the Rhône valley narrows.

Getting there

TGV Paris–Avignon in 2h40 to Avignon TGV, with a shuttle train to Avignon Centre in five minutes. Marseille is 35 minutes, Lyon an hour, Nîmes twenty minutes. Marseille and Nîmes airports are both about an hour.

Getting around

Everything inside the walls is walkable in twenty minutes. Free shuttle buses circle the centre; a free ferry crosses to the Île de la Barthelasse for the classic view back at the palace and the bridge. A car is useful for the Luberon and nothing else.

Eat & drink

Provençal, and vegetable-led: tapenade, ratatouille done properly, aïoli on Fridays, and lamb from the Alpilles. The Halles d'Avignon has a living green wall on the front and forty stalls behind it. The wine is Rhône — Châteauneuf-du-Pape is 15 km north and Gigondas and Vacqueyras are just beyond it.

Know before you go

During the festival hotel prices treble and rooms go months ahead — and the 'Off' fringe means every courtyard is a theatre and the noise runs to 2am. The Palais des Papes is largely unfurnished; the Histopad tablet included with the ticket is what makes it make sense.