World Heritage city and historical quirk, Avignon, is a great place to come and feel what the centre of the medieval Catholic world would have been like. And yet the imposing Popes Palace, the entourage of other ecclesiastical buildings with defensive fortifications can only leave you a teensy-bit terrified. After all this is a place where the kids sing songs about dancing on broken bridges.
Highlights
Medieval Avignon - Palais des Papes (Popes Palace), cathedral and don't forget to have a little dance on the Pont d'Avignon
Festivals - Avignon's July festival is the largest arts festival in France, but there are festivals throughout the year including the winter dance festival
Rue de Teinturiers (Street of Dyers) - cobbled street with water wheels, little bridges and a nice place for a cuppa
Sample local produce at Les Halles covered market
Station stroll ideas
If you have an hour or two to spare waiting for a train, why not go for a wander?
I've made a downloadable PDF and accompanying google map, which will give you a feel for the place and take in the sights that have earned Avignon its world heritage status.
Guided tours
If you would like a guided tour then you could check out this guided tour which takes place every Saturday.
Luggage
If you want to stroll without a care in the world, including your luggage, you could try using Bounce to find a place that will take your bags.
In this short video I take in the world heritage bits, explore the story of the bridge and have a wander down the delightful Rue de Teinturiers
Getting there
It takes about 3 hours to get to Avignon from Paris by TGV. Some of the trains stop directly in the centre, others just call in at Avignon TGV from which you can catch a local train to the centre.
Avignon is just over an hour from Lyon and half an hour from Nîmes.
Useful links
Tourist info: https://avignon-tourisme.com/
UNESCO - historic centre of Avignon: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/228
Where next?
How about Carpentras, Nîmes, Arles or Figueres?