A more in-depth sightseeing visit to Avignon was scheduled for today. We started with a walk from the nearest gate (Porte de l'Oulle) round the inside of the walls to the Porte de la Republique, somewhat uninspiring but it seemed like a good idea at the time. We visited the tourist information office and obtained an 'Avignon Passion'. This sounds very interesting but turned out to be a passbook granting discounted entry to sites in Avignon and Villeneuve lez Avignon on the other side of the Rhone. Useful but not passionate in my opinion!
The next stop was the Musee Lapidaire, an archaeological museum based in a huge, deconsecrated church. The collection was small but very interesting with Roman, Greek and Etruscan finds. We then moved on to the Palais des Papes where we obtained a €4 'passionate' discount on our tickets. There was very little in the way of furniture, decoration or fittings of any kind in the palace but the architecture was very impressive and there were a huge number of rooms. The free audio guides were very informative and detailed – if we had listened to every available clip, the palace would have closed before we had finished. The palace was home to 9 popes and it was very interesting to see how they lived, where they stored their treasure, where they slept and how they enhanced and enlarged the palace. They were eventually thrown out during the French Revolution in 1791/2 and the army took over the palace, destroying much of the interior and adding additional floors in the huge rooms. Part of the palace was used as a prison during the popes' time - protestants and those accused of witchcraft leaving graffiti carved into the walls.
After a session at an Internet Cafe, we walked up to the Rocher des Doms, the popes' garden above the palace with its wonderful views over the Rhone, the land surrounding it, the Pont d'Avignon and up to the Alps in the North.
Photos: Avignon Papal Palace; Pont d'Avignon; Avignon at night.
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