Avignon is home to many of the region’s most iconic historical sites and monuments. Among them, the Palais des Papes and the Place du Palais, as well as the Place de l’Horloge and Saint-Pierre Basilica, are among the must-see attractions in the most beautiful city in Vaucluse. Find the main points of interest in the city known as the City of Popes on our Avignon map.
Geography of Avignon
Avignon is located in the western part of the Vaucluse department in the South of France. The city is also a half-hour drive from Orange and about a fifteen-minute drive from Sorgue. Other nearby towns include Carpentras (27 km), Cavaillon (36 km), and Ménerbes (47 km). The Lubéron Regional Natural Park is located about an hour from Avignon, in the east of the department.
Visitors can easily reach Avignon from other cities in neighboring departments and from your Avignon campsite. The city of the Popes is, for example, a forty-five-minute drive from Nîmes (Gard) and an hour and fifteen minutes from Montpellier (Hérault). Closer by is the charming town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue; Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, the two most famous destinations in the Bouches-du-Rhône, are just over an hour away by car.
Detailed map of Avignon
Find on our Avignon map the must-see places in the city to visit when you want to visit Avignon:
- Palais des Papes: The Palais des Papes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is impressive in particular for its imposing size. The 14th-century building, comprising twenty-four rooms, is said to be almost as large as four Gothic cathedrals combined.
- Saint-Bénezet Bridge: The legendary 12th-century Avignon Bridge, which connected France to papal territory in the Middle Ages. Of the original twenty-two arches, only four remain today. You can admire it up close during a cruise in Avignon.
- Palace Square: This beautiful esplanade was laid out in the 15th century by Antipope Benedict XII, when the winding streets around the palace were razed to enlarge the structure.
- Lambert Collection: Founded in 2000 by Yvon Lambert, the museum exhibits the works he donated to the French state. The galleries are housed in two beautiful 18th-century mansions.
- Place de l’Horloge: Avignon’s main square is where you’ll find the town hall and the opera house. Located in the city’s historic center, it hosts part of the Avignon Festival.
- St. Peter’s Basilica: This Gothic church was built in the 14th century under Innocent IV, who was the fifth Pope of Avignon. It contains numerous treasures, including an 18th-century gilded choir, Baroque and Renaissance paintings, and 15th-century relics of St. Peter of Luxembourg, complete with his cardinal’s robe and hat.
- Little Train: The Little Train is a practical way to discover the main tourist sites that appear on our Avignon map, such as the bridge, the city center, the Rocher des Doms or the Palais des Papes.
- Barthelasse Island: With its seven hundred hectares, Barthelasse Island is one of the largest river islands in Europe and is part of Greater Avignon.
- Calvet Museum: Open to the public for over two hundred years, the Calvet Museum was founded after local physician and collector, Esprit Calvet, donated his art, library, and cabinet of curiosities to the city of Avignon. It is one of Avignon’s finest museums.
- Rue des Teinturiers: This peaceful street which runs alongside the Vaucluse Canal in central Avignon was the nerve centre of the spinning and dyeing industry from the 14th to the 19th century.
- Petit Palais Museum: Located on the north side of the Place du Palais, this Renaissance building served as a citadel during the Western Schism that followed the Avignon Papacy.
- Angladon Museum: The museum was founded in an 18th-century mansion by the heirs of Jacques Doucet, a collector who had accumulated several world-renowned works, including Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
- Avignon Les Halles: From Tuesday to Sunday, around forty merchants set up their stalls every morning in this covered market on Place Pie. You’ll find a variety of products such as meat, fish, seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as wine, olive oil, herbs, cheese, and charcuterie.
- Pont du Gard: The Pont du Gard is one of the most famous Roman remains in the region, and even in France. Located twenty-five kilometers from Avignon, the monument is a fragment of a system that once spanned fifty kilometers, particularly near Uzès and Nîmes.
- Les Baux-de-Provence: Just thirty kilometers from Avignon, nestled in the magical Alpilles countryside, Les Baux-de-Provence is one of the “most beautiful villages in France,” located opposite Mont Ventoux.
