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Travel guide
Avignon
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June, and September to October
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Welcome
Avignon, in a few days
Seven popes ruled from Avignon between 1309 and 1377, leaving the largest Gothic palace in the world and a ring of medieval ramparts still intact around the centre. Since 1947, the city doubles in size for three weeks every July, when the Festival and its fringe turn every courtyard, chapel and garage into a theatre.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Palace of the Popes · about 2 hTwenty-five rooms over three levels, with a tablet restoring the lost decoration; if short of time, see the great hall, kitchen and painted chamber.
- Afternoon · Rocher des Doms garden free · about 45 minThe rock where the city began, laid out as a 19th-century park with a pond and swans, overlooking the Rhône, the bridge and Mont Ventoux.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel de l'Horloge€130 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Musée du Petit Palais free · about 1 hA former cardinal's palace holding over three hundred Italian paintings from the 13th to 16th centuries, including a Botticelli Madonna.
- Afternoon · Pont Saint-Bénézet · about 30 minWalk to the end of the famous broken bridge, where the deck stops abruptly over the river, and look into its two-storey chapel.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mercure Avignon Centre Palais des Papes€140 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Barthelasse Island free · about 2 hA flat river island of orchards and poplars, good for walking or cycling; the riverbank path gives the classic view of ramparts, palace and bridge.
- Afternoon · Les Halles d'Avignon free · about 1 hA covered market behind a Patrick Blanc green wall, with around forty stalls, truffles in season and two counters where you can eat.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Cloître Saint Louis€150 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Rue des Teinturiers free · about 1 hA cobbled street along a canal under plane trees, where old mossy waterwheels still turn slowly beside the pavement.
- Afternoon · Collection Lambert · about 1 h 30Yvon Lambert's contemporary art collection in two linked 18th-century mansions, with works by Sol LeWitt, Cy Twombly, Anselm Kiefer and Miquel Barceló.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel du Palais des Papes€140 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €115 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June, and September to October
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/avignon
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.