Avignon, France; Once the City of the Popes

Meandering our way from the Mediterranean coast up to the tunnel we had a couple of weeks to spare so decided to spend a few days in the medieval city of Avignon, in the Provence region of France.  We’re not usually city visitors, however, Avignon is a little different to many, as it sits on the banks of the Rhone River so doesn’t feel as hemmed in as some.

I’m not known for my research prior to arrival in a place, the hubby is responsible for this, I’m the driver that gets us from A to B.  So, I didn’t know until we arrived that Avignon was the seat of the Catholic popes from 1309 to 1377 and had remained under papal rule until 1791 when it became part of France.  The city centre is home to the amazing and huge Palais des Papes (Popes’ Palace), alongside other beautiful architectural buildings, with the city being surrounded by medieval stone ramparts.  Nobody who had recommended this to me had told me that amazing fact!

A Day out in Avignon City

There is a free ferry from the island over to the city which drops off at the foot of the stairs to the Jardin des Doms.  There are a significant number of steps to get up to this, or you can follow the meandering path set to one side under the arches that lead you up into the city centre, obviously we took the steps in 25-degree heat, who wouldn’t!  In all honesty we didn’t see the path off to the side.

From the gardens, which are beautifully laid out with a nice pond in the centre and a café, there are views out over the river and countryside beyond.  It really is a magnificent view from here and well worth the hike up the steps/hill.  The café served nice sandwiches, snacks and refreshments and it was a welcome rest stop in the shade of the trees, we had drinks and cake to build our sugar levels back up, well that’s my excuse!

From here we walked back down into the main square where the Palais des Papes is, this is such an architecturally beautiful area of the city.  We took a ride on the Petit Tourist Train which took us through the meandering back streets, passing the tourist sites and up to the gardens before returning to the square.  The commentary was in all languages via earphones so was very informative.

If you go under the arches on arrival or coming back to the ferry, you come to the entrance to the Pont Saint-Benezet (Le Pont d’Avignon) which is the ruins of the famous medieval bridge with 4 arches spanning the Rhone and the small chapel of St Nicholas.  Tickets cost around £4 to walk on the bridge but you see more of it from the island where we were staying so we didn’t venture in as the queue was huge.

There is a lot of history to see in this city and as you wander around you come across some lovely little squares with restaurants and cafés in abundance, definitely not a place you would starve in!  It doesn’t feel like a big bustling city, probably because every area is separated by big buildings and narrow streets, so it gives a feel of intimacy at every turn of a corner.  You can definitely spend more than a day exploring, and that’s without visiting the Palais.

A Visit to the Palais des Papes

You can’t visit Avignon and not visit the Palais des Papes, which was the most fortified palace of its time, with 10-foot-thick walls it was seen as a symbol of power in its day.  It remains the largest surviving Gothic palace in Europe, where seven popes ruled for nearly 100 years.  With UNESCO World Heritage site status, and its golden statue sitting atop, it towers over the city and can be seen for miles around.  Every time you turn around it feels like the statue is following you, it is visible from almost everywhere in the city and really is a sight to behold.

I’m not going to tell you all about the history because you can either read it on their website, or it would be a spoiler if you plan to visit.  Instead, I’m going to tell you about my experience.  We paid for the Palace and Gardens entry which came with an ipad each in our language of choice, this was 14 euros each, and I’m sticking my neck out and saying this is the absolute best tour I’ve ever taken inside a French historic building. 

The ipad guides you through 25 rooms around the palace, on entry to each room you would be forgiven for thinking it looks quite blandly decorated and a bit empty.  However, you scan your ipad at each ‘station’ and as you pan around it brings the room to life showing you images of how that room would have looked centuries ago.  It talks you through the history of each room, and draws you in to that time period, it is mesmerising and a really smart way of providing a guide.  There are displays in each room where you can read further information and look at artifacts they have found over the years of restoration.  I only took one photo inside as it was frowned upon.  Don’t worry if you’re not tech savvy, it is literally pressing a button to start, press an arrow to move and press a button to stop.

The gardens were not as impressive as I’d been expecting and quite small, although it gave insight into how it was used to grow their own food, and still do.  They also gave you a good view of the exterior part of the palace that you don’t see from outside, so I was glad we’d paid the extra to visit this section.  There is access to a small seating area and vending machines to one side of the garden.  The fresh air was welcoming before starting the second half of our tour as it was very hot inside due to the thick stone walls retaining heat, top tip don’t go in a coat!

They were doing some building work on the interior courtyard so we couldn’t enter that area.  Overall, we spent around 3 hours doing the tour of the interior and gardens.  A word of warning, the building has no lifts to get to the majority of the tour and there are a lot of steep-ish staircases to climb up and down and some quite uneven flooring so wear good footwear and be prepared for a bit of a workout on your legs.

Where We Stayed

I like to be honest in my reviews and it is rare we find somewhere that’s not up to scratch in France, but this wasn’t, so I’m going to give the good and the bad, starting with the good.  We stayed at Camping du Pont d’Avignon which is positioned on the Ile De La Barthelasse directly opposite the city centre via the free water ferry that crosses the Rhone. It is only a 5-minute walk from the campsite and runs very frequently throughout the day, or you can walk or cycle the 1.4 miles to the centre of town via the road bridge. 

The staff in the reception were very friendly and spoke good English. There is a swimming pool on site with sun loungers, and a small bar next to this with a takeaway but the food area was closed.  The on-site shop had some basic supplies, and you could get fresh bread daily by pre-order.  They also had cycle hire from the reception.

On to the not so good – we hired a chalet as we’d had to switch to the car at the last minute, it wasn’t the cleanest we’d been in, but it was the most expensive per night and was dreary inside and outside due to the heavy trees surrounding it.  We were opposite the camping pitches which were a decent size, but had very little grass left.  Again, this area is heavily shaded by tall trees and high hedges to three sides and I’m going to describe it as dank, not a word I'd use normally for a campsite but fitting for this one.  The mosquitoes loved this area, and we got a lot of bites despite not sitting on our terrace for that very reason.  The back of the site had a more open grassed area, these looked better but had no demarcation, so people had just parked randomly, and the grass needed a cut.  The toilet/shower facilities were very tired, although they were clean. Overall, the site felt unloved, and it won’t hit our ‘best campsites’ list for sure. The location was excellent for getting into the city so I guess that’s why it is very popular and attracts a higher price tag than others of a similar standard.  Based on location alone, I’d probably put up with the shortfalls on the site if I wanted to visit Avignon, but it is only my opinion.

Where We Ate

In the gardens – Buvette du rocher des Doms – excellent for snacks, cake, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on a hot day – very reasonably priced; highly recommend.

In the Palais des Papes square – In & Off – hubby had a burger, and they made me an omelette that wasn’t even on the menu – very reasonably priced, excellent food and service; highly recommend.

In the Palais des Papes square – Le Moutardier du Pape – we had a crepe and a drink one afternoon – crepe nice, service ok; probably wouldn’t go back.

Summary

Avignon is a beautiful city, with a lot more to see than initially meets the eye, and a visit to the Palais des Papes is a must.  It is a tourist trap so be prepared for crowds, but we visited at the end of September when it was much quieter and went into the city early morning each day before the bus tours arrived.  As a non-city lover, it is definitely a place to spend a few days, and you can escape the city very easily by bicycle or car and have tranquillity in no time at all.

Enough waffle for this week, if you have been to the area, please drop me a comment on the blog letting me know what you thought of it.  If you enjoy reading my blogs, please like and subscribe to my website so you get notified when the next blog is published.  It’s completely free, I don’t fill your inbox with unwanted spam, and it really means the world to me to know my experience has helped someone else.

Happy Travels