Picture 1: The walls of the old city
Picture 2: Palace of the Popes. I couldn't get the whole building in the photograph
Picture 3: The formal dining hall in the Palace of the Popes
Picture 4: St. Bénezet Bridge seen from Parc des Rochers des Doms
Avignon was the second largest city we visited. There are 90,000 or so people in Avignon and about 300,000 in the metropolitan area. It was settled in Celtic times and became the first Roman province west of the Alps. It qualifies for a six flags franchise since it belonged to the Romans, the Goths, Burgundy, Arles, the Saracens, the Franks, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papacy, several local counts, Sicily, France (twice), and was also an independent republic. I probably missed a few owners. It sits on the left (east bank of the Rhone River.
But we were here to see the Palace of the Popes. From 1309 to 1377 Avignon was the seat of the Papacy, instead of Rome. This building, five stories tall and the size of a football field, was built between 1335 and 1364, on a rock spur. Its walls are 17-18 feet thick. The popes had enemies. Seven popes resided in the Palace followed by two anti-popes. The building is now a museum.
We took a tour train of the city first which gave us a perspective of the fortifications. Then it was on to the line to enter the Palace. Just like Disneyland but the line moved faster. For some reason the tour was free that day. Here, as in other places, a hand held speaker with an English language description of the rooms was available. It took us 3 hours to go through the part of Palace open to the public. I don’t think we got out of the southern wing. At one time the place was ornately painted and furnished with tapestries and wall hangings. Traces of some of the paintings still exist.
Two rooms were very large. One, the cathedral, was expected. But the other was the formal dining room. As most tours do, we were guided out through the boutique. But before that was a “degustation” room where you could buy a glass of vine from the vineyards owned by the popes. These vineyards were across the Rhone in the small town of Chateauneuf du Pape. Sound familiar? The popes had their summer homes there. We sampled and bought two bottles to bring home.
Lunch was next but once again it was after 2 and we had a hard time finding something to eat.
Not satisfied with all the walking and stair climbing we had done earlier we climbed the hill north of the Palace and the city cathedral, older than the Palace. On top the
parc des Rochers des Doms had a greatview of the city and St. Bénezet Bridge. Built in the late 1100’s, it was the only medieval bridge to cross the Rhone, a very significant river. It was partially desstroyed by floods several times but was rebuilt until an icy flood in 1668. Now it is a bridge to nowhere.
But we were here to see the Palace of the Popes. From 1309 to 1377 Avignon was the seat of the Papacy, instead of Rome. This building, five stories tall and the size of a football field, was built between 1335 and 1364, on a rock spur. Its walls are 17-18 feet thick. The popes had enemies. Seven popes resided in the Palace followed by two anti-popes. The building is now a museum.
We took a tour train of the city first which gave us a perspective of the fortifications. Then it was on to the line to enter the Palace. Just like Disneyland but the line moved faster. For some reason the tour was free that day. Here, as in other places, a hand held speaker with an English language description of the rooms was available. It took us 3 hours to go through the part of Palace open to the public. I don’t think we got out of the southern wing. At one time the place was ornately painted and furnished with tapestries and wall hangings. Traces of some of the paintings still exist.
Two rooms were very large. One, the cathedral, was expected. But the other was the formal dining room. As most tours do, we were guided out through the boutique. But before that was a “degustation” room where you could buy a glass of vine from the vineyards owned by the popes. These vineyards were across the Rhone in the small town of Chateauneuf du Pape. Sound familiar? The popes had their summer homes there. We sampled and bought two bottles to bring home.
Lunch was next but once again it was after 2 and we had a hard time finding something to eat.
Not satisfied with all the walking and stair climbing we had done earlier we climbed the hill north of the Palace and the city cathedral, older than the Palace. On top the
parc des Rochers des Doms had a greatview of the city and St. Bénezet Bridge. Built in the late 1100’s, it was the only medieval bridge to cross the Rhone, a very significant river. It was partially desstroyed by floods several times but was rebuilt until an icy flood in 1668. Now it is a bridge to nowhere.
There is so much more to see and do in Avignon but the afternoon was gone and we only had one day left in Provence. Tomorrow we would head to Peter Mayle's part of Provence.
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