Four Things to do in Avignon

On today’s blog we take you to picturesque Avignon on the River Rhône in south-eastern France. Avignon is located just 36 km from Benvengudo Hotel, approximately 31 minutes by car, and is an ideal location for holiday makers interested in the history of southern France.

Palais des Papes

The Palais des Papes is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the Palais was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Antipope Benedict XIII in 1394.

Pont Saint-Bénézet

The Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as the Pont d’Avignon, is a famous medieval bridge. The bridge has its origins between 1177 and 1185, where the original bridge spanned the Rhone between Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Avignon. This was destroyed forty years later during the Albigensian Crusade when Louis VIII of France laid siege to Avignon.

The bridge was rebuilt with 22 stone arches. It was very costly to maintain as the arches tended to collapse when the Rhone flooded. Eventually in the middle of the 17th century the bridge was abandoned. The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhone are all that remains of the bridge and are believed to have been built in around 1345 by Pope Clement VI during the Avignon Papacy.

Musée du Petit Palais

The Musée du Petit Palais is a museum and art gallery in Avignon. It opened in 1976 and has an exceptional collection of Renaissance paintings of the Avignon school as well as from Italy, including “primitives” from the collection of Giampietro Campana. It is housed in a 14th-century building at the north side of the square overlooked by the Palais des Papes.

Avignon Cathedral

Avignon Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located next to the Palais des Papes and is the seat of the Archbishop. The cathedral is a Romanesque building, built primarily in the second half of the 12th century. The bell tower collapsed in 1405 and was rebuilt in 1425. In 1670-1672 the apse was rebuilt and extended. The building was abandoned and allowed to deteriorate during the Revolution, but it was reconsecrated in 1822 and restored by the archbishop Célestin Dupont between 1835 and 1842.

Benvengudo Hotel is a 4 star luxury boutique hotel located in Les Baux-de-Provence. Set in an authentic Provencal country house, its idyllic location offers a perfect base from which to explore this remarkable region in the South of France.

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