Avignon is a treasure house of palaces, museums and meandering lanes in Provence in the South
of France, surrounded by an old fortified wall that still protects it.
That is one of the beauties of a walled town in Europe, not only did it protect the town
from bandits and invaders during the Middle Ages, but in the 20th and 21st centuries it
continued protecting these historic centers from modernization.
Which means that the old town is beautifully preserved with large pedestrian zones, and
yet at the same time filled with up-to-date shops and restaurants, a city providing comforts,
convenience and entertainment that you expect to find in the sophisticated culture
of France.
They built the largest Gothic palace in all of Europe, so it's definitely something you
must see when you come to Avignon, and also the little streets and pedestrian zones are
certainly part of the charm, forming a large automobile-free zone, filled with shops and
restaurants that will keep you busy.
We'll take you on a tour of the main highlights as well as explore the extensive pedestrian
zone and do some shopping, providing maps and tips to help you get around.
As usual, it's an entertaining and practical approach filled with great visuals and helpful
descriptions.
This is one of the most beautiful cities in France.
It's loaded with historic monuments, especially the great Palace of the Popes.
In the 14th century the popes left the Vatican in Rome and relocated to Avignon, which transformed
this city into one of the most powerful places in all of Europe at the time.
The popes remained here for nearly 100 years and this was the Golden Period of the city
when the great palaces were built in great mansions and the wall was constructed all
the way around the town to protect the popes.
Begin your orientation of Avignon, with a look at the two main squares in the center
of town, the Place de l’Horloge, surrounded by cafes and bistros and the adjacent Place
du Palais containing the city's most important and historic structure, the Palace
of the Popes.
Along with the Pope's Palace and those two central plazas, the other main sites to see
are the many pedestrian lanes lined with shops and historic structures and the main street,
the Rue de la République, along with the medieval wall that still goes around most
of this historic center.
Arriving at the main gate through the wall is a typical way that most visitors enter
Avignon, especially if you're coming from the train, which is just across the street
and this leads directly into the main street, which extends through the center from the
train station nearly to the Pope's Palace in a straight line about one mile long.
And we are here on a Saturday afternoon and evening when it's really special because it's
closed down to automobiles at that time, and it becomes this big pedestrian mall.
It's like a street party.
Of course one of your main actions when you're walking around is people-watching, and especially
when it's a couple of beautiful kids like this, in their little carriage.
This was just too charming and too friendly.
It was a great scene and we all enjoyed it.
Lined with modern shops and various quality restaurants, it is the town center's busiest,
especially lively late afternoon and early evening.
Even if you are here on a weekday when the road is open to normal traffic, it's still
very pleasant and there are really not many cars going by.
You'll find that people are still walking in the street cautiously.
There's a lot of quick places to eat here, but you'll probably get a better meal if you
look for some of those quality restaurants on the side streets, unless you're just looking
for some simple foods, as we'll show you in a moment.
Towards the southern end part of it is lined by a lovely, tree tunnel.
It leads from the main train station straight through town to the Place de l’Horloge,
one of the main squares.
It's straight road that was cut through in the mid-1800s through what had been typical
narrow, winding twisted medieval streets of Avignon that you still find throughout the
rest of the historic center.
It's a grand boulevard with pedestrian-friendly wide sidewalks, restaurants, fast food, fine
cuisine, clothing stores.
It's really the retail center of Avignon.
There are some big department stores like Mono-Prix, FNAC and H&M.
And you've got street music.
(music) There are a snack shops, sandwich shops, pizza
and there's also a department store, Carrefour, that has got a nice food department in the
basement where you can get bread and cheese, bottle of wine and take some snacks back to
your room maybe.
Aah, but French cuisine.
When given the choice and opportunity in a place like Avignon, go ahead and indulge in
a great French meal.
Back out onto the Place de l’Horloge lined with restaurants and cafés and bars.
It's a great spot in the center of town, carousel is usually going and check out these bubbles.
This guy has got the biggest bubble ever, right out in front of the Opera.
This Place is one of the central points of the city with a mix of restaurants ranging
from a simple bistro to fine dining.
You're going to find many excellent restaurants within a few blocks of this central Place
and lovely streets for strolling, as we'll show you now.
Exiting the southwest corner of the Place you will come right into lovely Rue Sant Agricol
and beyond that Rue Joseph Vernet.
The map shows how these lively neighborhoods in the center of Avignon are very close together.
You've got those main streets of Vernet and Agricol right next to the Place de l’Horloge
making one of the most interesting parts of town for you to explore.
Later we will show you an even larger pedestrian zone over on the east side of town.
Be sure to walk a few blocks up and down Rue Sant Agricol, a classic side street which
offers a delightfully pleasant environment of shops and people out for a stroll.
Just next to the town's main square, Place de l’Horloge.
Notice how they have iron posts to protect pedestrians from the automobiles because this
busy street is open to traffic and yet remains very safe because of the design.
There's a rich variety of kinds of shops here and throughout the entire town center.
This is one of the favorite streets for just browsing along.
Remember this is Saturday night, the one evening that people just take over the street, so
there is lots of folks out.
In the morning it's a lot quieter, so if you're out here at 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning
this main street really has a different character, a different quality than later in the day.
There are a couple of quiet side streets, you might have a look at.
They don't have much in the way of shop or important touristic destinations, although
you will run into a friendly little wine store where you can taste before you buy, and some
old buildings.
Tucked away nearby is the dilapidated Pallais du Rouer where Pope Julius 2nd ran a school.
A good reason to spend several days in Avignon, so you've got the time for just sort of an
aimless wanderer down these back alleys, getting a little lost, and then back into retail heaven.
One of the nicer shopping streets in Avignon is Rue Joseph Vernet.
Now this street is really at its best late in the day and early twilight when you have
that magical combination of twilight, you've got shop lights, the evening light, the street
lights are on, just beautiful to be out on the streets at this hour.
It stays quite lively.
It's a very safe spot 10 o'clock, even 11 o'clock at night.
Of course, the shops will be closed, usually by about 8 o'clock, but the restaurants and
the cafes and the bars are open.
While it's obviously a shopping area you don't have to be purchasing anything to participate
in this pleasure.
People are here just for the experience of strolling along enjoying the scene with the
rich scenario of shops and lighting and people all blending in together to a great experience.
We say windowshopping in America.
The French say licking the windows.
A most pleasant stroll through this deluxe part of town.
As we've shown on the map, it's quite easy to find this lovely shopping area.
It's just a few blocks west of Place de l’Horloge, the main central square of town and yet many
visitors might simply overlook this because it's not in the main tourist zone of historic
monuments, being a couple blocks west of the town center, and yet it is worth finding.
If you can't make it here at twilight, then just come over anytime you can.
It's good throughout the day.
The shops stay open, some close in the midafternoon for a brief siesta, we' re still in the south
of Europe, after all.
Travelers are generally busy every day, so don't worry about exactly what time to get
here, but make it a point to find the street.
At the lower end it's a little wider.
It's got a lane for parking and one lane for through traffic, but for the most part it's
only one lane with wide sidewalks, makes it a very pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.
You'll find the lower end does not have nearly as many shops and those stores are a little
bit less upscale, more down to earth, so that makes a nice part to see as well.
The total length of the street is just about 700 meters so you can easily see the whole
thing.
The street is named after one of the most famous painters of Avignon, Joseph Vernet,
who worked during the 18th century noted for his seascapes and so it's only appropriate
there are a number of art galleries on the street today.
There is just one hotel on the street the Mignon and it offers quality rooms at affordable
prices.
It's 2 stars and the rooms are soundproofed and it's right in the middle of the shopping
area.
If you prefer a luxury hotel, walk towards the north end of Rue Joseph Vernet and take
a left down to Place Crillon j, ust a block away, where you will come upon the Hotel d'Europe,
oh it's a five-star deluxe property.
It is rated number 2 of all the hotels in Avignon on Trip Advisor and we will take a
look inside.
On behalf of the staff of the Hotel d'Europe, we welcome you.
Even though it's five-star deluxe you could book a room here during most of the year for
just over two hundred euro, or with breakfast included about €250 for 2 people.
I do not usually get a chance to stay at the five-star level, but some years ago I had
the good fortune to stay here.
It was a memorable experience.
Not only do you feel pampered in such a luxurious environment, but you're also located in the
very center of the historic zone.
The hotel, where you stand right now, it's right here.
It was built in 1580 and it used to be the house of Marquis of Gravaton
It remained a private mansion from late 1580 to 1799, when it became a hotel, making it
one of the oldest hotels in France.
Another hotel you might consider is the Mercure.
It is right in the heart of town between the Pope's Palace and the Place de l’Horloge,
a very comfortable four-star hotel.
It's it's in the Accor group of French hotels and we found it was a very nice place, very
clean, modern and friendly.
We have many more movies about Provence and the south of France in our collection including
Avignon, Arles, and the artistic village of St Paul.
We’ll be taking you to the stone village of Les Baux, have some crepes, down to Nice,
the beach, the old town.
We’ll see it during the daylight and take you back there at night.
We’ll be visiting historic sites and meeting the people, Pont du Gard, ancient Roman aqueduct,
the quaint village of St Remy will charm you on market day with street music, you'll see
shop dogs and ancient arcades, the daily joy of life in the streets is one of our specialties.
We’ll do some downtown shopping and enjoy traditional recreation,
You can also find Aix en Provence, Cannes and nearby Antibes along the sunny shores,
and Marseilles in our series of travel videos, all the best of southern France.
Look for them in our collection.