France
Avignon is the walled city on the Rhône where, for most of the fourteenth century, the popes ruled Christendom, and it still looks the part.
The Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in the world, looms over the old town, ramparts four kilometres long still ring it, and the four surviving arches of the Pont Saint-Bénézet reach out into the river on the edge of the Rocher des Doms gardens. This guide books Avignon properly: the palace with the combined ticket that adds the bridge, a free walk along the ramparts and the gardens above the river, the contemporary art of the Collection Lambert, and the July theatre festival that fills every courtyard in the city. Then it widens the circle to Provence: the Roman aqueduct of the Pont du Gard, the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape where the popes built their summer castle, the ochre cliffs and hilltop villages of the Luberon, the immersive shows of the Carrières de Lumières at Les Baux, and, in summer only, the lavender fields. It matches you with a hotel to suit, from a palace-side mansion to a family-run guesthouse inside the walls, because in a compact walled city the right address puts everything within a short stroll.
Palais des Papes
The largest Gothic palace in the world, a fortress-palace that sheltered seven popes in the fourteenth century. Walk its vast stone halls, the painted Stag Room and the great courtyard where the Avignon Festival stages its plays. The one sight in Avignon you should never skip.
Pont du Gard
A Roman aqueduct bridge three tiers high, built in the first century AD and still standing across the Gardon river. About 25 km from Avignon, it is the best-preserved piece of Roman engineering in France, with a museum, wooded trails and a riverside to wander.
Luberon Villages Tour: Gordes and Roussillon
A half-day tour to the postcard Provence of golden hill villages: Gordes stacked on its cliff and Roussillon glowing red in its ochre quarries. About an hour from Avignon, it is the easiest way to see the Luberon without wrestling with parking.
Pont d'Avignon (Pont Saint-Bénézet)
The famous half-bridge of the nursery song: a twelfth-century span that once crossed the Rhône on 22 arches and now stops in mid-river after four. Walk out along it for the best view of the palace and the river, and learn the shepherd boy legend behind it.
Hand-picked: every experience here has strong traveler reviews and a verified booking link.
The largest Gothic palace in the world, a fortress-palace that sheltered seven popes in the fourteenth century. Walk its vast stone halls, the painted Stag Room and the great courtyard where the Avignon Festival stages its plays. The one sight in Avignon you should never skip.
The famous half-bridge of the nursery song: a twelfth-century span that once crossed the Rhône on 22 arches and now stops in mid-river after four. Walk out along it for the best view of the palace and the river, and learn the shepherd boy legend behind it.
FreeA free hilltop garden beside the cathedral with the best panorama in Avignon: the Rhône, the Pont Saint-Bénézet, Villeneuve across the river and Mont Ventoux on a clear day. Shade, a pond, picnic spots and a dragon playground make it the city's living room.
FreeA free 4.3 km circuit of fourteenth-century walls that still encircle the entire old town. Walk or cycle the outside, pass the old gates and towers, and get a sense of why a city of popes needed such formidable defences.
One of France's most important contemporary art museums, set in two elegant eighteenth-century mansions in the old town. Founded around the gallerist Yvon Lambert's gift to the nation, it mixes the permanent collection with fresh shows. A good rainy-day counterpoint to the popes.
A Roman aqueduct bridge three tiers high, built in the first century AD and still standing across the Gardon river. About 25 km from Avignon, it is the best-preserved piece of Roman engineering in France, with a museum, wooded trails and a riverside to wander.
A day among the vines where the popes had their summer castle, with tastings of the powerful red blends that made the village famous. About 15 km north of Avignon, it is the easiest great wine region to visit without a car and without a designated driver.
A half-day tour to the postcard Provence of golden hill villages: Gordes stacked on its cliff and Roussillon glowing red in its ochre quarries. About an hour from Avignon, it is the easiest way to see the Luberon without wrestling with parking.
A dramatic hilltop village in the Alpilles and, beneath it, a vast former limestone quarry where giant artworks are projected across walls and floors. The programme changes yearly, with each show devoted to a single artist or theme. About 45 minutes from Avignon.
Purple fields, hilltop villages and lavender distilleries on a small-group day trip. Lavender tours run in summer only, with the bloom peaking roughly from late June through July, so plan for next summer if you are reading this in autumn or winter.
One of the world's great performing-arts festivals, held every July when the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes and courtyards across the city become theatres. It happens in July only, and the city books out early.
The best-preserved Roman theatre in Europe, with its towering stage wall still standing after two thousand years. A short train ride north of Avignon, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a perfect half-day outing from the city.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Palais des Papes
A historic mansion hotel tucked against the walls of the Palais des Papes, with a dozen dining corners, a cooking school and a hushed, antique-filled interior. Avignon's grand romantic splurge, a few steps from everything.
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$$$Place Crillon, near the Rhône
A sixteenth-century mansion turned grand inn in 1799, on the leafy Place Crillon between the palace and the river. Courtyard dining, a gastronomic restaurant, covered parking and about forty-four characterful rooms. Classic Avignon luxury.
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$$Southern old town near the station
A four-star hotel set in a seventeenth-century cloister, with a garden, indoor and outdoor pools, a restaurant and parking. The mid-range pick for families and drivers, on the southern edge of the old town close to the station.
Check rates →Next to the Palais des Papes
A four-star hotel on Rue Ferruce about 100 metres from the Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon, with rooms in a Provence and Mistral theme, a buffet breakfast in a conservatory and discounted palace parking. The easy, central mid-range choice.
Check rates →Southern old town near the station
A small family-run hotel with just 13 rooms in an eighteenth-century building on a quiet street by the ramparts, near the station and the old town. The budget favourite for friendly service and a good breakfast at a modest price.
Check rates →Quartier Ouest, outside the central streets
A four-star hotel on the western edge of the city in the Quartier Ouest, with 124 rooms, a seasonal outdoor pool, a garden terrace and secure covered parking. The practical choice for drivers and families who want space and a swim after sightseeing.
Check rates →Southern old town near Boulevard Raspail
A friendly three-star hotel on Boulevard Raspail, a short walk from the old town gates, with a terrace, a library and a game room. A characterful mid-range base with a 24-hour front desk and an easy stroll to the palace.
Check rates →South-eastern old town near Portail Magnanen
A three-star hotel with a garden and a terrace in the south-eastern old town, about twelve minutes on foot from the Palais des Papes. A calm, good-value base near the lanes of the old dyers' quarter.
Check rates →A first-timer's guide to Avignon: the palace and bridge combined ticket, the free gardens and ramparts, how to plan Provence day trips, and what to know about July and lavender season.
Which part of Avignon to stay in, from the palace quarter to the southern old town, with eight hotels for every budget and tips on parking, noise and festival season.
A three-day plan for Avignon: the palace and bridge on day one, markets, lanes and the ramparts on day two, and a choice of Provence day trips on day three.
What to eat and drink in Avignon: the covered market, Provençal dishes, local sweets and the wines of the southern Rhône, with tips on meal times and etiquette.
The best day trips from Avignon by theme: Roman sites, wine, hilltop villages, art and landscape, with notes on tours versus trains and how to combine them.
When to visit Avignon: spring and autumn for comfort, July for the festival and lavender, winter for quiet, with notes on heat, the mistral wind and opening hours.
