Avignon (France)

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Avignon was home to the papacy for nearly a century, at a time notorious for papal greed and corruption. The church was big business: apart from quasi-legitimate income from tithes and bequests, a spiritual protection racket was in full swing with the sale of pardons and indulgences, plus religious relics and similar trinkets, not to mention back-handers for clerical appointments. As you might expect, the hub of such activities acted ...
...the city’s prosperity. Avignon had been having a thin time of it, having suffered the consequences of backing the wrong side in the Albigensian Crusade, but now the population surged, multiplying tenfold to about 40,000, making it one of the largest cities in Europe at the time. With this came a boom in construction – ecclesiastical, civil and military. Many of the monuments that visitors flock to see today date from this period. Avignon’s importance ... more

The first time my wife and I visited Avignon, nearly twenty years ago, it wasn't a comfortable experience. We had two small boys in tow and they were “bored of interesting things”, which is to say defiantly resistant to any further educational sight-seeing.

I cannot now recall (the memory has a happy knack of blotting out such details) whether their running up and down, loudly chanting “Palace of the Popes, Palace of the Popes”, actually resulted in our being denied entry to that establishment, or simply meant that we might as well have been for all that we were able to take in as we went round it. Either way, it was a bit of a washout. Our offspring weren’t much impressed by the legendary Pont d’Avignon either, perhaps rightly taking the view that a bridge that only stretched half-way across a river wasn’t of much use, not even for dancing on (“why would you need a bridge for that?”). They would rather have been splashing around the campsite pool, or canoeing on the River Sorgue, and eventually we submitted, leaving the historic sites of the city as unfinished business.

Until we went back this autumn without the filial encumbrances.

Rome-sur-Rhone

We hadn’t planned it that way, but our recent visit coincided with the 700th anniversary of the arrival of Pope Clement V to take up residence in Avignon. Unless you are a student of mediaeval history, you may be wondering why a pope would want to take up residence outside the Vatican. The eternal city was going through a spot of bother at the time, and was deemed unsafe, maybe even in danger of proving far from eternal after all. To spare the supreme pontiff the indignity of being seen to be running scared, the church came up with the legal fiction that wherever the pope resided was by definition Rome, and experimented with several venues before settling on Avignon. Catholicism always was adept at this kind of doublethink, indeed could hardly exist without it.

Avignon was home to the papacy for nearly a century, at a time notorious for papal greed and corruption. The church was big business: apart from quasi-legitimate income from tithes and bequests, a spiritual protection racket was in full swing with the sale of pardons and indulgences, plus religious relics and similar trinkets, not to mention back-handers for clerical appointments. As you might expect, the hub of such activities acted like a magnet for chancers and chisellers looking to carve out a piece of the action.

Morally, all this was doubtless reprehensible, but it did wonders for the city’s prosperity. Avignon had been having a thin time of it, having suffered the consequences of backing the wrong side in the Albigensian Crusade, but now the population surged, multiplying tenfold to about 40,000, making it one of the largest cities in Europe at the time. With this came a boom in construction – ecclesiastical, civil and military. Many of the monuments that visitors flock to see today date from this period. Avignon’s importance declined once the papacy returned to Rome, a decline that may in the long term have helped preserve the mediaeval character of its centre and thus its recent revival as a tourist attraction.

Within a city’s walls

Walled cities have always had a special appeal to me. Not only is a full set of walls a feature of interest in its own right, but it marks a clear delineation between the oldest – and generally most interesting – district and the rest, which in turn tends to protect the historic centre from encroaching redevelopment.

The walls of Avignon are more impressive for their extent – over four kilometres in circumference – than for their defensive qualities. Although they have almost entirely survived, they are not in very good repair; you cannot, unfortunately, climb to the summit of the remaining fortified gatehouses or walk around the top of the ramparts. Built of the local limestone, they appear a grim grey under a cloudy sky but exude a golden glow in sunshine, as do many of Avignon’s older edifices. The city is at its best seen from across the river Rhone on such a day.

Within the walls lies a labyrinth of lanes, some tortuous and very few parallel with each other, making it engagingly easy to lose one’s way as one wanders round, thereby facilitating serendipitous discoveries. The maze-like layout also acts as a beneficial deterrent to all but the most determined and knowledgeable of drivers. Visiting motorists are best advised to keep to the boulevards that circle the old town outside the walls and to park in the adjacent car-parks before venturing inside. Little of old Avignon is formally pedestrianised, but traffic is light and doesn’t impinge on the pleasure of exploring on foot.

Cleaving a straight path across the lanes is just one main thoroughfare, which leads up from the railway station just outside the walls to the old papal quarter in the north. This thoroughfare is surrounded by municipal buildings at its southern end, where it is called the Cours de Jean Jaurès (seasoned visitors to France will know that M Jaurès was one of those dignitaries famous for having streets named after him). In its central stretch, where it is lined with shops, it known as the Rue de la République, and at its northern end, where it opens up to become a square, as the Place de l’Horloge. Horloge means clock tower, and the original 14th century tower can still be seen rising above the handsome 19th century town hall, with an equally handsome theatre of similar vintage next door. The square is shaded by plane trees and fringed by cafés with outdoor tables, a pleasant place to sip a coffee or drink while you absorb the atmosphere, provided you can stand the tourist-targeting prices.

Papal Bull

Once refreshed in the Place de l’Horloge, you will find a short ascent brings you quickly to the Place du Palais, the Palace in question being that of the Popes. It is certainly an impressive building, and stands out as such in a square surrounded by impressive buildings on all sides. Its frontage seems more that of a fortress than a palace, with turrets and crenellated roofline, machicolations, narrow windows in the solid limestone walls and a forbidding archway over the main gate.

Once inside, this impression lingers: courtyards, halls, galleries and chambers all have a spartan rather than luxurious air. This is not because the mediaeval popes and their entourages didn’t live in luxury – they did – but because few of the sybaritic trappings have survived. There is little furniture and scant decoration to be seen. Exhibits are displayed in showcases and explanations provided on panels or via English-language commentary from a handheld audio-guide. The commentary is well-contrived and there is much to see, but the atmosphere, when not that of a fortress is that of a museum, and one does not derive much feel for what the palace must have been like in its heyday. Nevertheless, full of interest and worth the 8.50€ entry fee.

Opposite the palace is the old Mint building (Hotel des Monnaies) which boast a wonderfully ornate facade crowned by a balustrade (see photo), but unfortunately this is not open to visit. So we turn our attention instead to the architecturally eclectic cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Doms, which has been partially rebuilt in varying styles over the centuries. Its highlight is a golden statue of the virgin; this can be seen catching the sunlight from all sorts of vantage points around the city. The interior, however, despite some fine frescos, I found curiously unmemorable.

Beyond the cathedral, and rising above even the golden virgin, is the Rocher des Doms. Dominating the banks of the Rhone from which the old bridge crossed the river, one senses that this rocky crag must have at one time been Avignon’s citadel, but if so no trace of fortification remains. The hilltop is now given over to terraced gardens, prettily arranged around a duckpond, but unremarkable except for affording spectacular views in all directions. This is the best angle from which to see the old bridge itself, to which we will now descend, passing as we do so the Petit Palais, originally a kind of annexe to the main one for the local archbishop/cardinal, now a museum housing a fine collection of mediaeval religious art said to be worth a visit if you like that kind of thing.

A bridge not far enough

It is tempting to imagine that Avignon’s famous half-bridge was contrived as a gimmick to attract tourists, like the leaning tower at Pisa, and this suspicion is not wholly dispelled when one learns the legend of its origin. Allegedly a simple shepherd called Bénézet was inspired by angels to persuade the people of Avignon to embark on the construction, setting an example by laying the first stone, a huge boulder that none but he could lift. The bridge was completed and became of great commercial and strategic importance, being by far the lowest point at which the Rhone could be crossed, while Bénézet was rewarded with a sainthood for his efforts.

The original bridge, though, lasted only forty-one years before being demolished by the vengeful Louis VIII when he took it out on Avignon for supporting the Albigensian heretics. Nothing daunted, the citizens gradually rebuilt it during the 13th century, and it survived for nearly four hundred years. But the river Rhone proved almost as destructive as vengeful catholic monarchs, as each spring’s Alpine melt water caused fierce flooding and battered the foundations. Eventually, after two arches were swept away during a time of plague in 1633, the cost of repair became unbearable, and Avignon did without a complete bridge until the Rhone was finally tamed in modern times.

Of the old bridge just four spans remain, out of an original twenty-two (if this seems puzzling from the picture, the explanation is that the far bank that they appear almost to reach is only an island, with a further branch of the river to be crossed beyond). But the surviving stretch is interesting to visit, including as it does the fortified gatehouse, within which there is an explanatory exhibition, and a little chapel built into the support between the second and third arches. Entry is 3.50€, or you can save a euro by buying a joint ticket for the bridge and the Palace of the Popes together for 11€.

As for the dancing commemorated in the traditional song, this took place not on the narrow cobbled bridge, but under it on the island in the middle of the stream; “sous” not “sur” le Pont d’Avignon, the lyrics having been corrupted by repetition over the centuries.

Around town

Although the bridge and the papal palace are its best-known features, they are by no means Avignon’s only attractions. A wander through the back streets will bring you to charming little squares (such as the Place des Carmes, the Place Crillon and the Place St Didier) and to some interesting churches (e.g. St Pierre, St Symphorien and – again – St Didier), as well of course as to any number of attractive secular buildings. I particularly liked those in the Rue des Teinturiers (Dyers’ Street). This runs alongside a side-stream of the Sorgue, into which still dip the paddles of the old waterwheels that used to power the workshops of the relevant craftsmen.

Coup de théâtre

One thing to be observed while ambling around is how very many theatres there are in Avignon, from the elegant Belle Époque edifice in the Place de l’Horloge down to tiny back-street affairs that look like no more than shop-fronts. This is not an accident. Each year in July Avignon hosts a prestigious theatre festival, with anything up to forty plays being staged at twenty different venues, including open air pageants in the Place du Palais. And that’s just the official bit; much as Edinburgh has its Fringe, Avignon has what is known as the OFF Festival running alongside the main event, with literally hundreds of artistes and performing companies seeking to entertain the public with drama, song and comedy. I greatly regret never have been there at the time, and thus being unable to tell you about it from personal experience.

There are also film, art and jazz festivals held in the city, though not of the same prominence.

Not far away

Apart from its own attractions, Avignon is at the hub of an area that could provide you with a lifetime's worth of holidays - or, at least, any number of side-trips using the city as a base. Villeneuve lez Avignon, just across the river, is worth a full day in its own right. Further afield, but within an hour’s journey, are the Roman relics at Arles, Nimes and the Pont du Gard (among other sites), the university towns of Aix-en-Provence and Montpelier, and the great city of Marseille. There are mediaeval castles at Tarascon, Beaucaire and Les Baux, and the fortified port of Aigues-Mortes. There are the lavender fields of Luberon, the vineyards of the Côte du Rhone, the olive groves of the Alpilles and the moody marshes of the Camargue, populated with flamingos, bulls and wild horses. There are also some modern resorts along the Mediterranean coast, but then, nowhere’s perfect.

Eating out

Like any city of its size in France, especially one that attracts its share of visitors, Avignon is crammed with appetising eateries. During our stay we dined at three restaurants of contrasting character, all good in their different ways: Merci Tonton, a cosy ethnic (though I couldn’t identify the exact ethnicity) place in the Place des Carmes; Au Tout Petit, near the Halles – tiny, but in great demand for its stylish, original cooking; and La Fourchette, in Rue Racine, behind the Place de l’Horloge, somewhat more expensive than the other two, but worth it for classic Provencal cuisine.

Just round the corner from La Fourchette and perhaps also worth mentioning is Le Simple Simon, which is the nearest thing I have seen in France to an English-style tea-room serving polite teas a l'anglais with cakes, etc. Harrogate, Cheltenham, Tunbridge Wells – look to your laurels; you’ve got competition in Avignon.

Shopping

Shopping is something I generally try to avoid. However, I could not help but notice that the Rue de la République is Avignon’s equivalent of Oxford Street, albeit on a mercifully much smaller scale, and that the pedestrianised area between it and the Halles has many small boutiquey shops selling clothes, curios, ornaments, books and the like. The Halles – the municipal covered market – is an excellent example of its kind, and as such may form the subject of a separate review.

Where to stay

There are any number of places to stay in Avignon, from plushy hotels in the traditional French style around the Place de l’Horloge to modern monstrosities on the outskirts. Smaller simpler hostelries are dotted around all over town. We stayed at a chambres d'hôtes called Le Clos du Rempart down a quiet backstreet in the shadow of the city walls. Full of character and kept by a charming Lebanese lady called Aida, it was a bit more expensive than the average B&B, but worth it for the quasi-Levantine décor and delicious breakfasts. She also has an apartment to rent.

For camping there are several large sites on the Ile de la Bartlelasse, the island where the dancing originally took place beneath the bridge. For a quiet site, though, you’d want to go further afield. The Camping Coutelliere site at Fontaine-de-Vaucluse was good when we stayed there in 1990, but may have changed since then.

How to go

For those who live in London and the South East, it’s easy, especially in summer when a Eurostar train service runs direct all the way to Avignon in not much over five hours. Out of season you have to change onto a TGV, either at Paris or Lille; I would recommend Lille, where you only have to cross a platform, rather than Paris, where you have to cross from one station to another. Unless you want to spend time in Paris en route, of course. Talking of which, if you have time to drive down, there are always things worth doing and seeing in France on the way.

Failing road or rail, you can of course fly. Flybe appears to do direct flights to Avignon itself from Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Southampton. Ryanair fly from Luton to nearby Nimes. Also, various carriers will take you from various UK airports to Marseille or Montpelier, not far away.

When to go

If I told you that in mid-October we had clear skies and sunshine nearly every day to enhance the autumn colours, you might think it was the time to go. But that would be to ignore the risk of meeting a mistral, the bitter blast of wind that often spills off the icy Alps at this time of year and funnels down the Rhone Valley towards the Mediterranean, whistling through Avignon on its way and penetrating even the warmest clothing. We coincided with one, and it was a shivery experience, sunshine notwithstanding.

Mistrals can also occur in spring, so it might be safest to go in summer. Early July would put you just ahead of the main French holiday season and enable you to see some of the Theatre Festival, though prices might be higher for that very reason.

Recommendation

Avignon is a city crammed with historic, architectural and cultural interest. For those who like such things, and especially for those who like France too, it’s not to be missed. If you have kids, though, don’t take them until they’re old enough to enjoy it and not to embarrass you (by which time you'll probably embarrass them and they won't want to go with you).

© torr 2009

For a review of Avignon's market, see:
http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Avignon_Market__Review_5881680

For a review of Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, see:
http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Villeneuve_lez_Avignon__Review_5883533 

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