Avignon Walking Tour

Avignon is compact, but its history is dense, and a local guide makes that history legible. This guided walking tour covers the heart of the old town and, as its title promises, the Palais des Papes. The route follows the story of the fourteenth century, when seven popes lived here and the town filled with cardinals, bankers, artists and servants. A guide explains the politics behind the move from Rome, the rise of the palace and the way the city grew around its new masters. Along the way, you pass squares such as the Place de l'Horloge with its clock tower and the grand facades of the cardinals' former residences, and you see how the medieval lanes still follow the pattern of the old town. Because the tour is on foot, you also learn things that a map cannot tell you: which streets run along the old canal, where the markets happened and which corners hold quiet churches. The tour page explains exactly how the palace is covered, whether from the outside or with an interior visit, so read it carefully if you want to be sure about the inside. For many visitors, a guided walk on the first morning is the best way to understand the city before exploring alone.

The tour pairs well with the other things you plan to do. If you are already booking a timed palace ticket and an audio guide, a walking tour mainly adds context and a feel for the surrounding lanes. If you prefer a human voice to an audio guide, or you travel with someone who enjoys stories and questions, a live guide is a pleasure.

Guides can adapt their commentary to the group, answer practical questions about restaurants and transport, and point out details that would pass unnoticed, from carved doorways to the lines of former canals.

Prepare for a walking morning or afternoon. Wear comfortable shoes for cobbles and stone steps, bring a hat and water in summer and a layer for the mistral, a strong cold wind that can sweep through the lanes in winter and spring. Cobbled streets are uneven, and the old town has some slopes toward the palace rock, so people with mobility problems should ask the operator about the route.

The tour usually runs in several languages and on different days, so check the tour page for the language, the meeting point and what the ticket includes. Book ahead for July, when the festival fills the city and streets are crowded.

Think about what else you want from the day. A guided walk is a good way to orient yourself on arrival, and it leaves the afternoon free for the Pont Saint-Bénézet and the Rocher des Doms. If you have only one full day in Avignon, a walking tour in the morning and a visit to the bridge or the gardens in the afternoon is an easy, rewarding plan.

If you would rather learn through food, the culinary walking tour is a livelier alternative, and if you like to wander alone, the free ramparts walk costs nothing and gives a very different view of the city.