Avignon is famous as the site of the Avignon Papacy from 1309 to 1377, when the city was owned by the Catholic church and seven popes resided there. The city continued to be owned by the church until the French revolution, and now it is a medium sized city with historic sites related to the Papacy. Yvon knows it from the children's song about dancing on the bridge (and we danced on the bridge, to the applause of a small group of tourists). We came to Avignon by train from Lyon, and spent a day exploring its little streets in a brisk wind. This gallery is also where I've put photos from our two days of driving, on the return trip from Marseille to Lyon, for no especially good reason than that they had to go somewhere.
Photo List (Total 403 Photos)
Click bolded headers below to view, or click "just the best" for quick tour
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Key Sights in Avignon (78 photos) - The key sights in Avignon are clustered around a very large square, the Place du Palais. These include the famous bridge (which doesn't actually cross the river), the Jardin des Doms, the Cathedral and the Palais des Papes.
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Other Avignon (102 photos) - This is basically everything else in Avignon, starting at the Place de l'Horloge, where the city hall is located, shopping streets, other plazas and two excursions outside the city walls, for a cemetery and the train station.
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France Drive Day One (123 photos) - We left Marseille from a car rental near the train station, and spent the night in Die (Not everyone can say they spent a night in Die). We stopped in many small towns such as Rognes, Lourmarin, and Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert.
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France Drive Day Two (100 photos) - This is our drive from Die to a hotel near the Lyon airport where we spent the night. Includes visits to Saint-Agnan-des-Vercors, Pont-en-Royans, Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye, and the very strange Palais Ideal du Facteur Cheval in Hauterives.
