THINGS YOU MUST DO IN... AVIGNON
AVIGNON may be the subject of a famous French song – but as GARETH HUW DAVIES discovered, there is more to this handsome gateway to Provence than dancing on the bridge…
TAKE THE TRAIN
THE nearest airport to Avignon with regular services from the UK is Marseille Provence – it’s 51 miles away. So why not take a direct Eurostar train from London, and then the journey becomes part of the holiday. The 7.19am service from St Pancras arrives at 2.08pm.
All the main attractions are inside the city ramparts. The best views are from Rocher des Doms – an elegant park looking over the Rhone, and out to a wider Provencal landscape. For a picnic, stock up with goods from Les Halles market.
BRIDGE TO THE PAST
BUILT in the 12th Century, Le Pont Saint Benezet served for centuries as the last crossing on the Rhone before it flowed into the Mediterranean. Floods gradually took it apart until, in 1669, locals figured it wasn’t worth repairing.
Now it is a bridge to nowhere, yet a song written about it, called Sur Le Pont D’Avignon, is known the world over. As the song says, it is still possible to dance, or simply walk, on the shortened bridge – only four of its original 22 arches survive. Entry costs about £9.
PAPAL PALACE
AVIGNON was once one of the world’s great power bases. The papacy moved here in the 1300s, as war threatened Rome. Clement V and his successors built the mighty Palais des Papes. Today the Palace – grand and extravagant, and still the greatest of all Gothic buildings – is one of the main attractions of the city centre. Inside the 27 rooms you’ll find tapestries and frescoes of dragons and unicorns, of flowers and forests, and hunting scenes. The Banquet Hall and Great Chapel are vast. In summer, the palace is the backdrop for a nightly light and sound show projected on to its facade (www.palais-des-papes.com).
SMALL WONDERS
AVIGNON’S smaller-scale historical marvels include the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Doms, and the Museum of the Petit Palais. The star among its Renaissance paintings is Botticelli’s Virgin And Child. The churches of St Agricol, St Didier and St Pierre date from pre-papal times. And in July, the Avignon Festival features displays by horsemen, dance performances and plays.
GOLDEN AGE
THE charm of this city is anchored in its squares and haphazard narrow, cobblestone ways, named according to some ancient purpose or function, such as Rue Bonnetterie (hosiery).
I ate at l’Agape (restaurant-agapeavignon.com) on Place des Corps Saints where home-cooked food is ‘inspired by the classics of French gastronomy’. A three-course lunch costs £20. In the afternoon, pause at any cafe in the central square, Place de l’Horloge. Its big attraction is the gorgeous Carrousel Belle Epoque, from France’s golden age before the First World War.
FINE WINE
LEARN as you taste at Le Vin Devant Soi (4 Rue College du Roure). Customers buy a card of credits, then serve themselves small tasting measures from 32 available wines from the surrounding Cotes du Rhone region.
On a quiet Monday morning, the proprietor shared his knowledge, and advised on real bargains.
For information, visit avignontourisme.com and eurostar.com.