Historic Centre of Avignon, Medieval fortified complex in Avignon, France

The Historic Centre of Avignon is a walled medieval town on the Rhône in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur. Its core is the Palais des Papes, built 1335–1352 on a rocky outcrop north of the city, with the old Palais Vieux of Benedict XII and the Palais Neuf of Clement VI. Below it stand the Romanesque Notre-Dame-des-Doms cathedral, begun around 1150, and the Petit Palais, started in 1317 as the bishops' residence. The 14th-century ramparts enclose the town, and four arches of the 12th-century Pont Saint-Bénézet remain in the river.

Avignon became the seat of the papacy in 1309, when Clement V settled there; the papal court remained until 1377. Benedict XII had the old bishop's palace replaced from 1335 by the Palais Vieux, and Clement VI added the Palais Neuf with its 52-metre Trouillas tower. During the Western Schism the antipopes Clement VII and Benedict XIII held the palace until 1408. The town stayed papal property until 1791, when it was joined to France.

The palace's painted decoration was entrusted to Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti, brought from Italy by Clement VI. The Chambre du Cerf, Clement VI's private room, keeps frescoes of rustic scenes, while the Saint-Jean chapel and the Tinel, or banqueting hall, were decorated by Giovannetti. Since 1947 the palace has been the main venue of the annual Avignon theatre festival.

You can enter the old town through several gates in the medieval walls, and the main area is easy to explore on foot with clear paths. It helps to walk at a relaxed pace to notice the details of the buildings and streets.

The Pont Saint-Bénezet was for centuries the only bridge across the Rhône between Lyon and the sea, making it a mandatory crossing point for merchants and travellers; before it was built, people crossed the river by boat. Its surviving arches are four of the original twenty-two.