Palais des Papes, Avignon
Rising above the Rhône like a fortress dreamed up by a pope with limitless ambition, the Palais des Papes is the largest Gothic palace ever built. Fourteen popes called this honey-coloured colossus home during the 14th century, and every vaulted hall still hums with that audacious history.
Inside the Palace
Walk through the Grand Tinel banqueting hall — 48 metres long and lit by tall Gothic windows — and it becomes easy to imagine the papal court feasting beneath painted ceilings that once blazed with blue and gold frescoes.
The Chambre du Cerf, the pope's private study, retains its original 14th-century frescoes depicting hunting and fishing scenes, a rare and intimate glimpse of medieval secular art surviving inside a religious monument.
The Surrounding Historic Quarter
Step outside and the cobbled Place du Palais frames the palace alongside the Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms, whose gilded Virgin statue glints on the rooftop and can be spotted from kilometres away across the Rhône plain.
The famous Pont Saint-Bénézet — the 'Pont d'Avignon' of the nursery rhyme — stretches only halfway across the river today, but walking to its broken end offers a postcard view back at the palace that no photograph quite does justice.
More of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur →
