Avignon
Situated on the banks of the Rhone, Avignon stands out like a lighthouse against the azure sky... Avignon is “Jerusalem, Rome, Antiquity and the Middle Ages all rolled into one”. But the city’s story is still being written and its symbolic power is as strong as ever.
Avignon, a medieval city nestled within 4-km-long walls, is a captivating, creative and dynamic place. Home to a large number of festivals such as the In Festival, the Off Festival, Les Hivernales, Fest’Hiver, etc., the city also boasts an Opera House and a prestigious symphony orchestra. It plays host to many talented performers and its artistic reputation extends far and wide.
The picturesque and intimate alleyways inside the city walls are a wonderful place for a stroll. A tour of the city will take you:
- from the Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in the world, to the hillside garden
of Notre Dame des Doms Cathedral,
- from the St Benezet Bridge (better known as the Pont d’Avignon), which was destroyed by flooding on the River Rhone in the 17th century, to the stone façades of the Place Crillon,
- from the chic boutiques on Rue Joseph Vernet to the covered food market on Place Pie,
- from the waterwheels on the Rue des Teinturiers (which is listed as a Historic Monument) to the lively student atmosphere of the Place des Corps Saints...
La Provence
Avignon is the beating heart of the Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, the gateway to Uzes, Arles, Nîmes, the Camargue, Aix, Marseille, Orange and its Chorégies opera festival, or nearby places with evocative names:
- the Luberon with its hill-top villages such as Gordes, Oppede, Lacoste or Lourmarin...
- l’Isle sur la Sorgue with its antique market,
- the Alpilles hills with Saint-Rémy de Provence, Eygalières or les Baux de Provence, a valley renowned for its AOC olive oil,
- Mont Ventoux, a stage in the Tour de France,
- Châteauneuf du Pape and its vineyards,
- the Dentelles de Montmirail hills and the Comtat Venaissin with the village of Crillon le Brave where the Popes stayed in days gone by...
Avignon and Provence...a land of gourmets, with bustling markets, where lavender sits alongside truffles on the stalls.
Provence is always a delight, with its own special ‘art de vivre’.
