Avignon was a fantastic place, where we spent the best part of a week in late September, enjoying the city and travelling to the cluster of WHS within easy travelling distance of it.

The main sights here are in a cluster at the northern end of town. The main sight is Palace des Papes; despite being mostly empty I really enjoyed taking the audio tour around here. One year before I had visited the Vatican and it was great to be able to contrast the two, and basically see what the Vatican would have been like if it was built in a Gothic style. There is a wine tasting exhibit as you exit and I can thoroughly recommend this as it is a great and fairly cheap introduction to the wines of the Rhone region, there are very few places better to drink Château-Neuf-Du-Pape, than in le Château-Vieux-Du-Pape. A walk around the outside of the complex will reveal how massive the complex is. It will also take you to the great gardens, which offer fantastic views of the Rhone.

The Cathedral and Petit Palace are situated on the same square as the Palace, and are worth the time to explore. The other major part of the inscription lies just outside the city walls; this is the famous Pont St Benezet/ Pont de Avignon. This is half a bridge with a little chapel on it; I must admit we didn’t pay to go on the bridge instead we preferred to view it for free from the banks of the Rhone. Just up stream from the bridge there is a free boat to take you back and forth to Ile de la Barthelesse, which offers the best view of the whole ensemble (picture), also great budget accommodation.

The rest of the city inside the impressive looking walls is a really lovely place to stroll around and lose yourself. The city seems to be chock full of bars and restaurants, the ones on Place d’Horlage cater mostly to tourists, however the charming rue des Teinturiers has some fantastic restaurants and a great atmosphere. I can give a huge personal recommendation to Wollomoooloo, which was one of the best dinning experinces i have had, the food at l’Orangerie on Place Jerusalem was also fantastic.

Avignon is a great place to base yourself for viewing Provence, including 3 other WHS. It has great transport connections with its brand new TGV station just out of town, with regular services to Paris, Lyon etc. and once a week to London!

We had a fantastic time here, and there is plenty to see and do. A very fine World Heritage Site.