Cloître des Carmes, Romanesque monastery in Avignon, France.
The Cloître des Carmes is a monastery in Avignon featuring stone arcaded corridors with rounded arches arranged around a central courtyard. The chapter house displays vaulted ceilings that show the craftsmanship of its builders, while the overall layout follows the traditional monastic design.
The Carmelite order arrived in Avignon during the late 1200s and built this monastery on land beyond the city walls. The structure evolved over centuries as the city expanded around it, yet its core design remained largely unchanged.
This monastery now hosts theatrical performances and cultural events that bring activity into its historic corridors and courtyard. The space has become a venue where artists and audiences gather among the ancient stone architecture.
You can enter the cloister from Place des Carmes, while another historic doorway on Rue Carreterie offers an alternative access point. Wear comfortable shoes since you will walk on stone surfaces and uneven ground throughout the site.
Residential buildings constructed around this monastery over many centuries created a protective layer that prevented deterioration. This close urban neighborhood remains visible today and shapes the immediate surroundings of the cloister.
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