- Avignon
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- Eurostar
- (70)
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France
Take advantage of the bus trips from the Avignon coach company Lieutaud, who will take you on day outings to the Camargue, the Luberon, Chateauneuf du Pape and the Pont du Gard.
Take care though. We were carried away by the Pont du Gard and walked right across the valley to photograph the viaduct from above. We well and truly had red faces when the driver had to come to find us. We hadn't been paying sufficient attention to our French listening and thought we had an hour for the stop, rather than the half hour that the driver had requested.
I think we understood the odd "les Anglais," though, as we re-entered the coach!
Very few people know JS Mill is buried in Avignon in a cemetery just outside the old town.
Should you care to rise slightly earlier on the last Friday in any month and make your way to the Post Office in Avignon you will enjoy the sight of hundreds of locals and a sprinkling of visitors setting off for a two-hour skate round the town.
Youngsters on skateboards, grandperes on ancient four-wheel rollers, and the more sportif flash past on inlines and even petites enfants wearing trainers with built-in wheels whizzed along by parents.
This entertaining spectacle reinforces the town’s reputation as the roller capital of France and in May/June it hosts the Avignon Roll'air festival.
Terre de Saveur is a great little restaurant that also does veggie food - not very common in France!
Take a Summer Eurostar direct to Avignon: When you arrive, do NOT join the massive queue of visitors fighting for a hire car, instead wander straight in to the town of Avignon until you reach the Palais des Papes.
Then stay in an ideal location next door at the beautiful and luxurious Hotel La Mirande (www.la-mirande.fr Tel +33 90 12 20 20).
Alternatively if you cannot face all Avignon’s action, jump on a train to Arles (20 minutes away, same station, frequent trains) and enjoy the peace of the Hotel Particulier ( www.hotel-particulier.com T+33 90 52 51 40).
Just 45 minutes outside Avignon is the mountain village Lacoste which was home to the Marquis de Sade. Most beautiful views, history and a cedar forest for an afternoon stroll.
Would highly recommend visiting Avignon in July 2008 for the annual Festival d’Avignon. But book your accommodation well in advance. This huge multi-arts celebration will guarantee you lasting memories.
Stock up with gourmet delicacies at Les Halles Market for picnics along the way. Indulge in calisson pastries made with almonds and candied melons and a chocolate, sugar and oregano liqueur delicacy called Papalines.
Get the free Avignon Pass Card offering tourist attraction reductions, available at the Tourist Office. Enjoy opera at the exquisite 15th-Century Eglise St Pierre followed by dinner at 'Christian Etienne' for the very finest of French cuisine.
Once you’ve arrived refreshed from your rail journey, don’t rush away too quickly from Avignon Station. Do take time to appreciate this innovative building completed in 2001.
A curved façade and wall of overlapping laminated glass panels has been used by the architect to impressive effect. Look upwards to fully appreciate the scale of it all.
On your return journey ticketed passengers are allocated platform space nearest their booked train seat in order to reduce the usual rush when a train pulls in. Avignon is just one of four new stations between Paris and Marseilles commissioned in 1998.
The train is definitely the best way to arrive in this beautiful city - an experience enhanced if you're sipping some of the best wine ever made – Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which is a mere 10km from Avignon itself and should definitely be on your 'must-see' list.
In the meantime, there’s a fantastic restaurant at the hotel La Mirande in Avignon that serves the most delicious Foie gras imaginable. Mmmmm. I’m getting goose pimples just thinking about it. Or should that be duck pimples?!
Eat real Provencal food at 'La Fourchetten', 17 rue Racine, that, after all, is why you came here!
To really begin to appreciate Avignon you should take the book The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears with you and read it on the train on the way there.
It brings to life Avignon in the 5th, 11th and 20th centuries with three glorious plot lines interwoven to give you glimpses of the secrets that the city holds. Then go and see what you can find in the city from these periods - it is the ultimate starting point for the imaginative journey which matches the physical one.
While in Avignon, hire a car and head east to Mont Ventoux, 'the giant of Provence'.
The weird lunar landscape at the summit is not to be missed, just watch out for the strong winds and the heat!
Villeneuve lez Avignon really should be visited by anyone intending to spend more than a day in Avignon. Some 10 minutes' drive to the other side of the Rhone is this superbly preserved late medieval village with great views across to the Palais des Papes.
Apart from the Chartreuse, fort, abbey gardens and village square, there's a great restaurant in a hotel next to the church. Very good food in menus costing around 70€.The sommelier is happy to recommend wines at anything from 20€ up.
Le Prieuré, 7 pl du Chapitre, Villeneuve des Avignon. 04 90 15 90 15
Surely the best restaurant in Avignon. A couple of set menus at around 65€, including the famous tomatoes in every course, plus a 'surprise' menu for around 115€ - one of the highest quality meals I've ever eaten. An ideal place for a very special meal.
Christian Etienne, 10 rue de Mons, Avignon. 04 90 86 16 50.
An excellent restaurant, in a very upmarket hotel. High quality food, with two set menus apart from the à la carte.
Beware: the 33€ menu is only available at lunch (and then not on what has been charmingly mistranslated as 'off days', ie public holidays). Otherwise, the menu costs 105€, but is well worth the price.
A delightful garden for eating outside, looking at the back of the Palais des Papes. Must book.
La Mirande, 4 place de la Mirande, Avignon. 04 90 14 20 20.
Hire a car and drive to Grasse, the heart of the perfume industry. The 3 hour drive through stunning scenery is lovely; the perfume museum quirky and interesting and the perfume shops irresistable. At the right time of year, the yellow Mimosa delights the eye and the nose!
The theatre festival held in July cannot be surpassed for thespian entertainment in the most beautiful settings.
Watch a play on a balmy provincial afternoon, followed by food and wine which elsewhere pales in comparison.
The charm of Avignon is in the atmosphere and no words can do it justice - you must feel it for yourself.
Over the bridge gets you to Villeneuve-les-Avignon, which is quieter and more bearable than Avignon proper. It's also in the Gard rather than Vaucluse, so it's gutsy Languedoc rather than pretentious Provence.
There's a good campsite, bars and restaurants which are affordable. From there you can make raids on foot to the cultural quarters, and still get back for a quiet pastis.
Les Halles market is great for a breakfast, stocking up for picnics and ogling the fine fruit, gorgeous bread and sumptous food - at bargain prices.
Coincide your trip to Avignon with the wonderful arts festival. There is plenty of comedy, theatre, and inpromtu outdoor performances. The festival takes place in July
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