Avignon › Places and landmarks
Palais des Papes
The largest Gothic palace in the world, built when the popes lived in Avignon, from 1309 to 1377.
In 1309 Pope Clement V settled in Avignon instead of Rome, and for nearly seventy years the popes ruled the Church from here. Benedict XII and Clement VI built the great palace in just twenty years, a fortress and a court in one.
Its vast halls are almost bare now, but some walls still show the frescoes painted for Clement VI. Every July its courtyard is the main stage of the Avignon Festival.
More in Avignon
Pont Saint-BénezetThe bridge of the song “Sur le pont d’Avignon”, of which only four arches are left.
Place de l’HorlogeThe town square, named after the Gothic clock tower behind the town hall, with a carousel and café terraces.
Rocher des DomsThe rocky hill above the palace, a garden with a view over the Rhône and the bridge.
Notre-Dame des DomsThe Romanesque cathedral beside the palace, topped by a gilded statue of the Virgin.
Hôtel de VilleThe town hall of 1856 on the Place de l’Horloge, built round an older Gothic tower.
Les HallesThe covered market behind a living wall of plants, with Provençal food under one roof.
RampartsThe 4.3-kilometre stone wall built by the popes, which still rings the whole old town.
Rue de la RépubliqueThe broad street from the station gate to the Place de l’Horloge, cut through the old town in the 19th century.
Musée CalvetA museum of fine arts in an 18th-century town house, founded on a doctor’s collection.
Avignon FestivalEvery July the town becomes one great theatre, with plays in the palace courtyard and in every hall.
MistralThe cold wind that sweeps down the Rhône valley, clearing the sky over Avignon.
CicadasThe sound of a Provençal summer: cicadas singing in the plane trees in the heat.