Avignon

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Avignon

Nearby:  | Aix-en-Provence 82 km (1h10) | Apt 40 km | Arles 36 km | Cavaillon 24 km | Chateauneuf-du-Pape 18 km | Châteaurenard 5 km | Fontaine-de-Vaucluse 30 km | Isle-sur-la-Sorgue 23 km | Lourmarin 55 km | Marseille 95 km (1h15) | Monteux 20 km | Montfavet 5 km | Nice 254 km (2h45) | Nîmes 44 km | Orange 31 km | Pontet 5 km | Tarascon 23 km |

Below: | Festival d'Avignon | Museums | History | O.T. | Dates | Transportation | Sports | Hiking | Dining | Lodging Hotels |

A great shopping area, with pedestrian streets without automobiles (not always the case in France), and loads of shops of all kinds. Southeast of the Place de l'Horloge: rue des Marchands, rue Rouge and ajoining streets are full of clothing and other shops.

Book market on the Cours Jean Jaures, just inside the wall in front of the train station.

Places

Most of the Beyond villages are so small that everybody meets in the center square. Avignon is big enough to get lost in, at least if you're trying to meet someone.

Place de l'Horloge

A long square in front of the Hôtel de Ville, with terrace cafés along both sides and the "Belle Epoque" carrousel at the top end. Both streets at the top end of the Place d'Horloge lead to the Place du Palais and the Palace of the Popes.

Place du Palais

The large square in front of the Palais des Papes is easy to find, and an entertaining place to wait.

La Civette - Café-Restaurant

Place d'Horloge, at the top, near the carrousel.

La Regence - Café-Restaurant

Rue de la République, across from the Office de Tourisme

Pont d'Avignon

You can't miss it (as long as you don't walk too far across it), but a bit exposed for waiting.

Festival d'Avignon

The festival of Dance, Music and Theatre was founded in 1947 by the actor and director Jean Vilar. (The 1996 festival was the 50th.)

The events occur all over town, often staged at historical monuments and in the streets, and with close audience rapport. This is now an international festival, with people from all over France, Europe and the rest of the world arranging vacations around the festival dates.

Festival catalog and information - tel: (33) 490 27 66 50; fax: (33) 490 27 66 83

Museums & Sites

Musée Calvet

A small 18th-century mansion, with classical and modern art, Greek sculpture and a local prehistorical collection.

Musée Lapidaire

Located in the chapel of the 17th-century Jesuit College. Contains stone carvings and sculptures from the different civilizations, including a "bestiary".

Rue de la République

Open: daily except Tue, 10h-19h

Musée Louis Vouland

Decorative arts, especially for 18th-century French furnishings, porcelain and faience and tapestries.

Musée Requien

A large herbarium (worldwide collection); local botanical, geological and zoological collections; excellent natural history library.

Musée Théodore Aubanel

Printing implements and methods, and rare editions and documents about Avignon from the 13th to 20th centuries.

Angladon Museum

5 rue Laboureur

Tel: (33) 0490 822 903; Fax: (33) 0490 857 807

Open: Wed-Sun, 13h-18h; Summer 13h-19h

Email: angladon@avignon-et-provence.com

Web: www.avignon-et-provence.com/musee-angladon

A rich art collection with some of the most prestigious signatures, in the private home of the art lovers who inherited them. Entry 30 F

History

Name
First record, in Roman texts from the first century BC: Avenio.
The name Avignon comes from "Avenio" which means "town of violent winds" or "town of the river".

Prehistoric: The Rocher des Doms in the center of Avignon was the site of neolithic habitation.

Celto-Ligurian: Several centuries prior to the Romans, this was a Celtic-Ligurian river port called Cavares.

Gallo-Roman: Avignon was a major Roman town until about the 5th century.

Medieval: Through the medieval period, Avignon has a strong and well-documented history, including the Popes who ruled from here, ecclesiastically and sometimes politically.

Office de Tourisme

Rue de la République Tel: 0490 82 65 11; Fax: 04 90 82 95 03
Email: information@ot-avignon.fr;   Web: www.ot-avignon.fr
Open: Mon-Fri 9h-13h, 14h-18h; Sat: 9h-13h; 14h-17h

Pont d'Avignon
Open: 9h-13h; 14h-17h

Dates

Every Feb - Tour des remparts; several races in different series, 1000 m to 11 km; open to all amateurs.
Every Mar - Semaine de la danse - Spectacles, conférences, stages
Every Apr - Festival d'Art Baroque en Provence: Avignon, Apt, Cavaillon, Isle sur la Sorgue, Saumane
Every June - Film Festival "Recontres cinématographiques euro-americaines d'Avignon" (last week of June)
Every June - Triathlon d'Avignon
Every July - FESTIVAL d'AVIGNON - Theater, Dance, Music. Tel: (33) 490 27 66 50; fax: (33) 490 27 66 83 - (they also have their own web site)
Every July - Festival Provencal - Palais du Roure", theatre and music in the Provencal language
3rd Weekend Sep - Journées du Patrimoine
3rd Thur Nov - Wine - Fete des Cotes du Rhone Primeurs

Markets, Brocantes

Sat, Sun: Marché, Remparts St Michel

Tue: Marché, La Trillade, Monclar, Montfavet

Wed: Marché, St Jean-Monclar

Fri: Marché, Pont des 2 Eaux

Daily except Mon: Marché, Marché des Halles

Sat: Brocante, Place Crillo

Sun: Brocante, Parc Expos

1st Saturday: Cours J-Jaurès; books, records

Transportation

Air

Avignon airport - Tel: (33) 490 81 51 51

The airport is 8 km southeast of the center, at the Exposition Center, and along the main N7 highway. There is no bus or shuttle to town, and the taxi costs around 100-150 F.

Rail

Avignon is on the main Paris-Lyon-Nice-Italy line. [rail map]

The new TGV station is at the southern edge of town, between the ring-road and the Durance river (Michelin map #245)

Bus

Bus information is given the Travel-Bus page

Line 57A runs daily between Saint Rémy-de-Provence and Avignon, with stops in Eyragues, Chateaurenard and Rognonas.

Boat

Boat Tours

Various Rhone-rive boat tours are available, either local (including dinner-dancing) or to Arles, Tarascon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the Camargue.

Sports

Camping

Hiking

The GR42 and GR63 (Grande Randonnée) pass by Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, just across the river to the west (an easy walk across the bridge).
The GR42 goes southwest to Montfrin, then joins the GR6 which heads southeast to Tarascon and the Alpilles.
The GR42 also heads north, past Roquemaure and Laudun.
The GR63 goes west, past the A9 autoroute, to Pont du Gard and points west.

Sports and Montagne (supplies)

and Alain Hantz - Guide de Haute Montagne

50, rue Carnot

tel: (33) 490 85 61 45

Dining

Restaurant l'Orangerie

A small restaurant at the Place Jerusalem, just a few minutes walk from the tourist-center Place de l'Horloge.

Style is provencal-Corsican. Four tables and bar on the ground floor and a few more upstairs. A lot of magazines and books of corsica laying about if you feel like reading while relaxing after your meal.

Simple and plain but good quality. We paid 200 F for two meals (about 30 euros), with a litre of sparkling water and coffee. Some possibilities [were]: Tartare de Saumon à l'aneth (42 F), Cannelloni au Brocciu épinards (54 F). Plat du jour, 41 F.

Lodging - Hotels