Known as the gateway of Provence, Avignon is a popular base for exploring the wider region. In the 14th century, Avignon was the most significant city in Europe. It’s often preferred as an accessible place to stay, but once journeyed, it wins people over and becomes a firm favorite in its own right. Behind the beautifully conserved ramparts lay streets flaring with history, alive with the sound of music, and festoon with art.
The inner heart of Avignon feels more like a cheerful village in reality. It’s a city that will seduce you and have you yearning to return. Here are the top things to do in Avignon, Come have a look!
Let’s explore the best things to do in Avignon:
Address to reach PONT DU GARD : 400 Rte du Pont du Gard, 30210 Vers-Pont-du-Gard, France
Palais des Papes
No trip to top things to do in Avignon would be complete without stopping in the majestic Pope’s Palace. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was erected to accommodate the Popes who fled to Avignon from a vicious Rome, leading the city to acquire the name ‘The City of Popes’. The largest gothic palace in the world, you could adjust four gothic cathedrals in here and there are 24 rooms to visit on the tour.
While you can definitely appreciate the palace from the outside – conceivably while sipping a café creme in the square out front – you’ll admire it all the more after taking a tour of the interior by getting a ticket for the Palace of the Popes and Avignon Bridge for £12.99.
Appreciate the 14th-century frescoes painted almost 700 years ago by the gothic artist Matteo Giovanetti. Pick up a histoid to disclose what the empty rooms and chapels of the palace once looked like. It’s an interactive experience that makes the session so much more informative and incredible. Get the audio guide for the full story.
Location: Pl. du Palais, 84000 Avignon, France
Pont Saint-Bénézet
Pont Saint-Bénézet, or St Bénézet’s Bridge, is one of Avignon’s most iconic sites. The mythic bridge is from the late 12th century, connecting France with Papal Territory. It was established on the packed part of the bend in the Rhône to lessen its exposure to the river’s notorious strong currents.
Initially, there were 22 arches, of which four survive today, and the bridge was 915 meters long, startling dimensions for the time it was built. Over the past few hundred years, the bridge was damaged and restored by flooding, until finally a catastrophic flood in the 17th century took away most of the arches.
Legend says that in 1177 a shepherd named Bénézet was urged by angels to build a bridge over the Rhône River and was endowed with superhuman strength to raise a giant lump of rock for its construction. You may listen to a few different interpretations of the story so it’s best to go for yourself and hear them all conclude what you think is the real version.
Website: avignon-tourisme.com
Location: Bd de la Ligne, 84000 Avignon, France
Rue des Teinturiers
If you reached the walls of the old city another way, you may never even know this little treasure existed. This old alley traces the Vaucluse Canal and is painfully cute. Rue des Teinturiers was the enthusiastic center of Avignon’s silk spinning and dyeing industry from the 1300s up to the 1800s.
The slender arm of the Sorgue River that flows here was the driving force. Nowadays its significance is mainly aesthetic, but four water wheels still illuminate the street as a memento of the once flourishing trade. Walking down through the lane, you’ll pass under the green sycamore trees alongside the canal.
Dainty footbridges enable access to the historic residences on the one side, while the other is brimming with cafés whose terraces spill out onto the cobbled lane.
Heed for the Maison du IV de Chiffre, one of Avignon’s oldest mansions, as well as the home of Jean-Henri Fabre, the respected 19th-century entomologist, at no. 14.
Location: 84000 Avignon, France
Les Halles Food Market
Is there a market in the world more romanticized than that of a conventional Provençal market? You’ll be welcomed by a giant, living wall as you reach the market. Some 40 merchants set up their stalls at this superb insulated market on Place Pie. Once inside there’s a large range of vendors selling a flavorful selection of Provincial foods which make for a great picnic spread to enjoy beside the river. There’s seasonal meat, fish, fruit, and veg, as well as wine, olive oil, herbs, cheese, and charcuterie from around the region.
It is much more than a market, Les Halles is a meeting point, a one-stop shop, and as some might say, the heart of the community. Open Tuesday through Sunday, it’s completely fussing on weekends. Especially on Saturday mornings when provincial chefs give live demonstrations of their expertise. if you’re lucky you’ll get to taste their creations. For an authentic and local experience, a visit to the colorful and fragrant market at Les Halles is a must.
Location: 18 Pl. Pie, 84000 Avignon, France
Le Pont du Gard
Le Pont du Gard is one of the top things to do in Avignon. It is a three-level stone canal bridge and one of the best-preserved portions of ancient Roman architecture in the whole of France. It is gorgeous, but it’s stunning to think that it’s just a fragment of a system that once spanned 50 kilometers, descending just 17 meters on its route from Uzès to Nîmes. The bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
You could get there by taxi, bus or hire a car if you have your own wheels. The structure stands 160 feet tall, the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts, and is calculated to have once carried up to 200,000 cubic meters of water a day. On the site is a lightweight museum of Roman history with kid-friendly exhibits, and a video explaining how this work of ancient engineering was undertaken.
Website: www.pontdugard.fr
Location: 400 Rte du Pont du Gard, 30210 Vers-Pont-du-Gard, France
Pont D’avignon
Pont D’avignon is one of the top things to do in Avignon. It is an amazing spot to visit.
The existing Gothic building was started in the 1300s during the papacy of Innocent IV, who was the fifth Avignon Pope. Local folklore has it that this church’s predecessor was demolished by the moors in the 7th century. Before you enter, take a little time to appreciate the monumental wooden tours, sculpted from walnut in 1551by Antoine Vollard.
There’s a trove of art to see inside too, like the gilded choir from the 1700s, renaissance, and baroque paintings, as well as the 15th-century relics of Saint-Pierre de Luxembourg, with his actual cardinal’s robes and hat. To visit, you need to buy a ticket. But the best views of the bridge itself are from above at the Rocher des Doms, or below on the île de la Barthelasse.
You can check the whole Itinerary for South of France
Website: avignon-tourisme.com
Location: Bd de la Ligne, 84000 Avignon, France
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