What a beautiful city, with its old town centre surrounded by medieval stone ramparts. Our arrival coincided with the Avignon Festival, very similar to the Edinburgh Festival, so the city was crowded. Avignon, a city in the Departement of Vaucluse in Provence, is set on the Rhône River. From 1309 to 1377, it was the seat of the Catholic popes, and remained under papal rule until becoming part of France in 1791, during the French Revolution.  At one time, there was a rival papacy in Avignon to that of Rome. At the centre of Avignon is the massive Palais des Papes and nearby the remains of the Saint-Bénezet bridge, more famously known as the Pont d’Avignon.  The city attracts 4 mil tourists a year including 150k or so who come for the annual festival.  We didn’t go ‘sur le pont’ but did go ‘devant le pont’.

Not ‘sur’ but ‘devant’ le Pont d’Avignon..

‘.. on croise les bras??’

What’s impressive about Avignon as you approach the city is its beautiful and very well-preserved 14th century ramparts.  Avignon is in fact one of the few French cities to have preserved its old walls. Around 12,000 of the city’s 90,000 inhabitants live within the old centre.

The ‘Porte St Roch’ gate, part of the old ramparts of Avignon old town.

4 mil visitors annually

The town was vibrant and brimming with cultural activities of all kinds.  It was good to see dozens of young people enthusiastically promoting plays which would be staged that night.  They surely can’t make very much profit out of these and they must do it out of sheer passion.  We were leafleted several times by friendly amateur actors who, when we explained we were only there for the afternoon, would simply say good-naturedly “merci pour etre venus” (thank you for coming).

We arrived during the annual cultural festival with dozens of young people promoting their plays and cultural events.

Someone playing the Oud near the main square.

Advertising another cultural event.

Massage being offered in front of the old Mint on the main square.

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A quaint old building on the ‘Promenade des Papes’.

The Palais des Papes and behind it, the Cathedral built in 1100 and later renovated in characteristic Provencal Romanesque style.

The mighty Rhone at Avignon.

Old door of the ‘Eglise des Minimes’ church where Cardinal Richelieu once said mass.