Today we explored the historic city centre of Avignon which is entirely enclosed by 4.3 kilometres of walls. It is famous for its rich history as the 14th century seat of the Catholic papacy and its massive medieval architecture. In 1309, Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon from Rome because Rome was no longer safe. Seven successive popes lived in Avignon from 1309 to 1377 in the Palace of the Popes, one of the largest medieval Gothic buildings in Europe.
The city centre has about 15,000 residents and this morning was quite busy with the addition of tourists (us) arriving on a number of river cruises. We started by visiting Les Halles, the local market to avoid the early crowds at the Palace. A strategy that did not work as the Palace was still very crowded when we arrived later in the morning.
It’s a busy little town, certainly a very different experience than our quiet visit to Viviers yesterday.
in the afternoon, we took a bus to L’Isle-sur-la Sorgue, a charming town completely encircled and laced through by the branching of canals of the Sorgue River. It’s world famous as the capital for antiques in Provence. The highlight of our visit was the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame-des-Anges. The interior of this church is a “wow” moment and isn’t to be missed.
More sightings around the town.
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