World City Guide

Key Attractions

Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes)
This palace-fortress looms above Avignon. The immense courtyard in front, lined with cafés and restaurants, is also the impressive setting for the Avignon Festival, while the battlements offer wonderful views. The palace was built over 30 years, during the reign of three popes – Bénédict XII, Clément VI and Innocent VI. The palace is based on the fusion of two buildings – the austere ‘Old Palace’ (1334-42), constructed on the orders of Bénédict XII, and the extravagant Gothic ‘New Palace’ (1342-52), of Clément VI. It is a frowning mass of elaborate architecture, covering some 15,000 sq metres (166,660 sq feet) and reducing Avignon’s other buildings to toy-town proportions.
The exterior is chilling and unfriendly, with a crenellated façade and slit windows. In contrast, the interiors are rich with the frescoes of Italian artist Matteo Giovannetti and Sienese artist Giovanni Luca, survivors of the fire that burned away many paintings and much finery in 1413. It is worth taking the audiocassette that is included in the admission price, to make sense of the maze of rooms within the palace. Among the most beautiful is the Pope’s Bedchamber. The walls are awhirl with frescoes of birds and grapevines, while the floor is covered with reproductions of the 14th-century tiles discovered beneath the nearby study of Bénédict XII, in 1963. Religious themes dominate the frescoes in the Chapelle St Martial and Pope’s Antechamber, while hunting scenes decorate the Stag Room. The Grand Tinel is where the pope’s banquets were held, with the pope seated on a raised platform. Gold plates and ivory cutlery were used to devour mountains of food – detailed inventories record the consumption of 118 cows, 1,023 sheep, 60 pigs, 1,195 geese, 7,428 chickens & a total of 95,000 dishes; and all at one sitting.

A guided tour (in French only) through the ‘Secret Palace’, with a chance to see Saint Michel Chapel and rooms that are normally closed to the public, with a convivial supper is available daily from 1700 from November to May. It is best for visitors to make a trip to the Palais des Papes in the afternoon, when it is cooler and there are fewer tourists.

Place du Palais
Tel: (04) 9027 5000 (reservations). Fax: (04) 9027 5088.
E-mail: monument@palais-des-papes.com
Website: www.palais-des-papes.com
Transport: Bus to place de l’Horloge.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900 (Mar-Jun and Oct); daily 0930-1745 (Nov-Feb); daily 0900-2100 (Jul – during the Avignon Festival); daily 0900-2000 (Aug-Sep).
Admission: ¬9.50; ¬11 (combined Palais des Papes and Pont St Bénezet ticket); ¬24.50 (Secret Palace tour, inclusive of meal); ¬31.50 (Secret Palace tour, Palais des Papes and Pont St Bénezet combined ticket); concessions available.

Musée du Petit Palais (Little Palace Museum)
Located on the northern end of place du Palais, the Little Palace Museum was built for Cardinal Béranger Frédol between 1318 and 1320. Following extensive alterations, Pope Benoît made it his episcopal headquarters. Today, its 19 rooms house an impressive collection of frescoes, sculptures and Italian religious paintings from the 13th to 16th centuries, including works by Botticelli, Carpaccio and Giovanni di Paolo. The Angel of the Annunciation, by Sano Di Pietro (1406-1481), is one of the most beautiful paintings – the golden-haired angel has all the beauty of a pre-Raphaelite woman.

Palais des Archevêques, place du Palais
Tel: (04) 9086 4458. Fax: (04) 9082 1872.
Transport: Bus to place de l’Horloge, place du Pie or post office.
Opening hours: Wed-Mon 0930-1300 and 1400-1730 (Oct-May); Wed-Mon 1000-1300 and 1400-1800 (Jun-Sep).
Admission: ¬6 (concessions available).

Pont St Bénezet (St Bénezet Bridge)
‘Sur le pont d’Avignon on y danse, on y danse &’ – the melody of the 19th-century song still draws visitors to the famed bridge that is formally known as the Pont St Bénezet, after the shepherd whose heavenly vision and determination led to the bridge being built. Spanning the two channels of the River Rhône and the island in between (Ile de la Barthelasse), the bridge was built between 1177 and January 1185. Originally made of wood, it had to be continuously rebuilt, as it was the only crossing, providing a link between the Mediterranean and Lyon, an important trade hub in the Middle Ages. The river finally won the day, washing away the bridge in the mid-1600s. Today, only four of its original 22 arches and the tiny Chapelle St Nicholas remain. This delicate Romanesque chapel, dedicated to St Nicholas, patron saint of barge men, should not be missed. A small museum, situated beneath the ticket office, offers images of the bridge in former centuries.

Rue Ferruce
Tel: (04) 9027 5116 or 9085 6016. Fax: (04) 9082 7402 or 9082 7402
E-mail: monument@palais-des-papes.com
Website: www.palais-des-papes.com/pont
Transport: Bus to place de l’Horloge or porte de l’Oulle.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900 (Apr-Oct); daily 0930-1730 (Nov-Mar).
Admission: ¬3.50 (Pont Bénezet only), ¬11 (combined Pont St Bénezet and Palais des Papes ticket); concessions available.