Last Updated on September 23, 2018
Everyone Dances in Avignon:
There are those places you drive through or pass through on the train that you always intend to visit one day. Avignon, for me, falls firmly into that category. I’ve visited Provence and the South of France on many occasions and always been charmed by the ambience and architecture of this historic French city when I’ve been passing through. Up to now though, I haven’t had the chance to explore.
Thanks to an invitation to visit Hotel Benvengudo in Les Baux de Provence, we were just a short drive away and our hosts generously arranged a trip with guided tour and then lunch in the City Centre. A great chance to wander around Avignon, though sadly as it turned out, not to dance on the bridge…
Although the history of Avignon goes back to prehistoric periods, it is for a unique time in the history of the Christian Church, when, in 1309, Pope Clement V made Avignon the Pontifical residence. It was his successor, John XXII who elevated the city to make it the capital of Christianity and transformed his former home as Bishop of the diocese to the Palace of Popes. Then, in 1348, Clement VI bought the town for 80,000 florins.
In all, seven popes and two antipopes (figures a little like the leader of the opposition) were based in Avignon and during that period, the city became a hub for creativity, focussed on Le Palais des Papes.
During the Napoleonic Wars the building was converted into an Army barracks and the beautiful Chapel had extra floors and windows installed to accommodate soldiers stationed there. It must have made a strange military base
Thankfully, the building was vacated in 1906 and a careful programme of renovation started almost immediately.
Now the Unesco-listed Gothic style building is open to the public. You can walk through the halls, chapels and terraces and into the private apartments, beautifully decorated with frescoes by Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti of the Siena School. Photography in the rooms with the most important frescos is not permitted, but I caught this shot from the screen guide provided outside
And, this one which is by Jean-Marc Rosier licenced under creative commons on Wikipedia gives a better idea of the scale and detail of the Giovanetti frescos in the Chapelle de Saint Martial
Although the Pontifical residency returned to Rome, the City of Avignon continued to flourish and grew in importance as a commercial centre. It was home to one of the first foreign exchange markets – with agents of the great Italian banking houses acting as financial intermediaries and money changers. At the time, the City had a large Italian population since all the papal bankers were Italians.
Avignon is a wonderful place to explore, full of stunning buildings, winding streets and passageways.
There’s a charming and authentic food market where you may just be tempted as I was to stock up on tapenade and conserves. And, when you tire of wandering, there are some excellent restaurants. We enjoyed lunch outside at Le Moutardier du Pape, on the opposite side of the main square to Le Palais des Papes.
Over a glass of wine, and a dish of Sea Bream with artichokes, I reflected that my own fascination with Avignon probably originated with that little nursery rhyme. It may just have been the first French I ever heard. The famous Pont d’Avignon where everyone is supposed to dance was built in the 12th century, but damaged on a regular basis both by wars and by a turbulant Rhone which flooded the lower parts of Avignon on a regular basis. Legend has it that the bridge was built by Benezet, a young shepherd from the Ardeche who heard a voice from heaven commanding him to build the bridge. Challenged by the bishop, he loaded a huge stone onto his shoulder and tossed it into the river, starting the construction of what is the oldest structure on the Rhone river.
Sadly the Pont d’Avignon or Pont St-Benezet was damaged on such a regular basis and by the 17th Century it was abandoned. Now, if you walk up through Rocher des Dom Gardens you can look out over the Rhone at the half-bridge. It’s up to you whether you choose to focus on the legend of St Benezet or simply get a bad case of earworm while you imagine everyone dancing…
Why not save this post for later and pin it now!
Disclaimer: We were guests of Hotel Benvengudo for this trip to Provence and Avignon. All content is editorially given.
Quartier de l’Arcoule (D78F)
13520 Les Baux de Provence
FRANCE
+33 (0)4 90 54 32 54
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Great place
I really enjoyed reading this travel blog. I’ve always wanted to go. Thanks for sharing.
Keep up the great work x
such stunning architecture and history – I really need to visit again. I have only been to Paris – so much to see
Next time you’re down this way…..get in touch. I’m in Tarascon, another historical town near to Avignon.
ah too bad I didn’t know! We were there for four days in les baux de provence. Very lovely!
I would love to explore all that medieval architecture. If only those walls could talk. I could spent a week just having fun wandering around Avignon and discovering its history.
Oh wow, what a beautiful part of the France! Bookmarking this. Thanks for sharing 🙂
We were here last summer and it was fantastic! Also found a gem of a restaurant tucked in some random corner which we ended up going back to over and over again! The South of France is something else isn’t it!
I’m embarrassed to say that as a student of history, lover of France and devout Roman Cathoic – I have never been. Your post has made me feel all the more guilty! But seriously, I need to make the trip – and I think I’ll need much more than a day!
It seemed pretty well adapted for wheelchairs too!
With produce as fresh as that in the markets, I’m sure the food is fantastic! It looks very peaceful and charming, very different to the city.
The food in that part of france IS very good
I would love to come here. I love learning about all the history that these kind of places went through. Great blog post! 🙂
I love hostory so Avignon sounds interesting to explore. Thanks for the hotel recommendation – it’s always cool to find convenient place to take a rest from all the walking tours.
Thanks for this interesting blog post. I’m always impressed by historic towns – it’s like time travel. It always makes me wonder about all the things that happened in these building and all the stories that would probably fill a book.
I love finding street food, stands and markets! It is great to be able to get fresh, local food when traveling and I bet the food in France was awesome!
There’s some stunning places in Provence including Avignon, Le Pont du Gard, Gordes and orange. I’d love to go back and hire a Gite
It’s a few years since I visited Avignon, but we had a wonderful time there, I have great memories of amazing food and breathtaking scenery. Really must get back there sometime……
What a great day you had., I love historical towns and I think this would be one of the favorites for me.. Lots of history and historical buildings that are easily accessible.
Great photos!
That was such a lovely day trip!
It was indeed – with great company too;)