Tourist attractions Avignon

This 15 000m Palais des Papes is made up of the Old Palace and the New Palace. The former, a fortress with austere architecture, was commissioned by Benoît XII in 1334. Artist and prodigy, Clément VI, grand prince of the Church, must have found it ra..

A collection donated to a couple of Avignon painters by the Paris dress designer, Jacques Doucet : paintings by Cézanne, Sisley, Manet, Derain, Picasso, Modigliani ( The Pink Blouse ) and Foujita, and The Railway Waggons , painted by Vincent Van Go..

The Pope bought Cardinal Arnaud de Via’s palace in 1335 to install the bishop’s house there. It now houses the Petit Palais Museum’s paintings, of which the Campana Collection of Italian paintings from the 13C and 16C is the high point. Don’t miss ..

A stone’s throw from the Papal Palace. From the different levels you can take in views of the Rhône, St Bénézet Bridge, Philippe-le-Bel Tower and the fort of St André de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, Mt Ventoux, the Alpilles…

The «Bridge of Avignon» which was in fact built for pedestrians and cavaliers was about 900m long with 22 arches and ended at the Tower of Philippe-le-Bel de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. Situated on one of the bridge supports, the chapel of St-Nicholas ..

Its classical 17C façade, terraces and balustrades decorated with lions and flower urns overlook a pond and Italian-style park. The interior of the château, designed by Louis-François de Valfenière, features an 18C décor of Italian inspiration. The f..

The plateau is composed of Glanum city , abandoned in the 15C following barbaric invasions, and two superb monuments, the mausoleim and the municipal arch which amidst a wood of pine trees paint one of the most romantic pictures imaginable.

One of the favourite residences of King René of Anjou , who commissioned the highly refined exterior decoration. Don't miss the outer bailey and apothecary, the royal court with the cantors' chapel and the many-sided turret housing a stairway. The..

In addition to Arles-born Joseph Vernet ’s great seascapes, this museum founded by Dr Esprit Calvet houses numerous sculptures, fine goldwork and earthenware (Puech Donation), French, Flemish and Italian paintings from the 16C-19C ( The Death of Bar..

Behind the Baroque façade of the Chapelle des Jésuites lies a trove of treasures from the region’s past. From the Noves "Tarasque" (a monster from Celtic tradition) to the Gallo-Roman period, superb statues: portraits of emperors or simple ..

Housed in the Pierre-de-Luxembourg mansion, the municipal museum displays some exceptional artworks, including a 14C Virgin in polychrome ivory, carved from elephant tusk. Note also the Virgin with two faces from the Nuremberg school (14C), the chasu..

The fort enclosed an abbey, the Romanesque chapel of Notre Dame de Belvézet and a village of which nothing remains. It was erected in the 14C by Jean the Good and Charles V. Its magnificent entrance, the twin towers , is a fine example of medieval..

The Val-de-Bénédiction Charterhouse is worth a detour. Once through the cloister gate , walk towards the main nave of the church which affords a superb view of Fort St-André. Visit the small cloister, the chapter house, the sextons' courtyard and ..

Remarkable pieces excavated at the Glanum archaeological site are exhibited at the Hôtel de Sade (15C-16C).

Here you can see a series of mural paintings on the theme of torture, by Mario Prassinos (1916-1985) for the Notre-Dame-de-Pitié chapel: tortured trunks and branches, in an austere contrast of black and white a few days before the artist died of ca..

A Celto-Ligurian tribe, the Glanics, made this sanctuary into a city, which was in close contact with local merchants and comprised the public buildings and peristyle houses that were highly influenced by Hellenistic style. The Roman conquest gave ri..

The perfect proportions and the exceptional quality of the sculpted decor of the arch indicate a Greek influence: a single arcade embellished with a beautiful garland of fruit and foliage, a vault decorated with finely chiselled coffers, sculptures o..

The 18m-high Mausolée is one of the finest examples of the Roman world, and is still intact. Bas-reliefs depicting battle and hunting scenes decorate the four sides of the square base. On the first floor, beneath a maritime fresco, is the inscription..

This former townhouse housed the famous calico print factory beginning in 1806. The museum, devoted to these colourful fabrics, has nearly 40,000 wood print blocks with brass tips. The blocks were applied manually, then hammered by workers who printe..

The event is immortalised in a painting by Carle Van Loo depicting a kindly-looking Tarasque. The collegial church, built in the 12C and partly reconstructed in the 14C, has preserved its attractive Romanesque gate (south side), although the scul..