France
Terre de Saveur is a great little restaurant that also does veggie food - not very common in France!
Eat real Provencal food at 'La Fourchetten', 17 rue Racine, that, after all, is why you came here!
The two of us spent £34 for 3 courses including Kir aperitifs, a carafe of house wine and complimentary digestives - exceptional value for one of the best meals we have ever had.
Beautiful food described and cooked with love said the English-speaking guys who wooed us through the evening. We shared a platter of 3 cold soups: - Gaspacho - crème de petits pois à la menthe - Soupe de melon aux copeaux de jambon cru. This was followed by
Carpaccio de bœuf, vinaigrette de tomate et gingembre confit, glace Wasabi and completed by a crumble aux fruits rouges et pommes, coulis banana. If you can appreciate their love of food and artistic flair then go but it is not for the steak and frites brigade.
Location: 4 rue d'Amphoux, Avignon
Telephone: 8718560
Map: tinyurl.com/yswdc4
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.
Restaurant la Treille is a superb restaurant set on a small islet on the River Rhone
Chemin de l'Ile Piot, 84000
My recommendation for this fantastic city, and many other European cities too, is to use the 'one road away' rule when looking for something to eat. The best restaurants can often be found just one road away from the main tourist attractions, where prices are much more reasonable and quality often appears to be higher. A group of us had an amazing lunch one afternoon just one road away from the Cathedral, and when we checked, it was a third of the price of the more mainstream restaurants!
After visiting the Palais des Papes and various other architectural and natural delights, where better to dine than in a restaurant that is truly fit for a Pope at 'Christian Etienne'. It's perfect intimate environment with extravagant decor will provide a truly unforgettable night to remember, but it's raison d'être is to be the very finest eating experience that every connoisseur should sample on at least one (although preferably more) occasion during his or her life, something it does with consummate ease.
10 rue de Mons
Done the city? Want to taste the countryside and culture of Provence to the south of Avignon? Well, hire a car from the TGV station and head for the village of Maillaine. Try the excellent chambres d’hôte at Mas de Mouret for two nights, visit the lively St Remy market on a Wednesday morning, then have a superb lunch at La Maison Jaune. In the afternoon visit the incredible Cathédral d'Images near Baux-de-Provence – lovely and cool on a hot day. In the evening find a quiet café to your liking in Maillane, Graveson, Chateaurenard or Noves.
Maillaine
The restaurant Compagnie des Comptoirs is located in a beautiful, calm 14th century cloister on Rue J Vernet. The cooking, by the Michelin starred Pourcel brothers reflects the real southern French style "les sauveurs de Sud" full of flavour and local ingredients, influenced by North Africa. Tables are placed in the palm fringed courtyard, or you can eat in the cool of the stone dining room. The cocktail bar stays open late (for France), with white leather and glass, and is full of the young, beautiful and well-heeled of Avignon.
rue Joseph Vernet
When visiting Avignon be sure to hire a car and explore the Vacluse, the excellent markets of L'isle sur La sorgue, and the pretty village of Bonnieux. The place to eat for a wonderful meal, in a building having that special ambiance you only find in small french restaurans is the Restaurant De La Gare Bonnieux, just off the RN 100.
The Vacluse
La Ferigoulo is a gem of a restaurant. Te food is at gastronomic level and the atmosphere is pretty cool. I wouldn't enter there wearing bermuda shorts and a baseball cap, but you don't have to wear a suit. Even better, the prices are pretty low - I would highly recommend it!
It is in the Cardinalice Room adorned by a Brussels tapestry and under Renaissance ceiling that you will experience culinary art. The food is absolutely amazing. Chocolate mousse and teas are complimentary. Menus from €35.
4 place de la Mirande
Try La Treille, a superb restaurant set on a small islet on the River Rhone.
A must for every visitor is the Palais des Papes - truly spectacular. But also check out the great restaurants and wine bars in the square, the quality is generally very high - a cheap favourite is La Grande Brasserie.
Travel to Avignon from Paris by TGV at super, quiet speeds and watch the beautiful French countryside dramatically pass by your window from the upper tier of the train. Avignon station is clean, modern and user friendly and only a short hop from the centre of the fascinating, walled city of Avignon itself. Go when the festival is in full swing. It's like Edinburgh, but younger, livlier and warmer. Eat at the Christian Etienne and enjoy the adventure of eating a 10 course meal with each course having tomato as the theme. Even the ice cream!
Rue de Mons 84000
My recommendation for this fantastic city, and many other European cities too, is to use the one-road-away rule when looking for something to eat.
The best restaurants can often be found just one road away from the main tourist attractions, where prices are much more reasonable and quality often appears to be higher.
A group of us had an amazing lunch one afternoon, just one road away from the Cathedral. When we checked, it was a third of the price of the more mainstream restaurants!
After visiting the Palais des Papes and various other architectural and natural delights, where better than to dine in a restaurant that is truly fit for a pope - Christian Etienne.
The perfect, intimate environment, complete with extravagant decor, will provide a night to remember. But the restaurant's raison d'être is to provide a fine eating experience that any connoisseur worth his salt should sample at least once - although preferably more often. This it does with consummate ease.
Done the city? Want to taste the countryside and culture of Provence, to the south of Avignon? Well, hire a car from the TGV station and head for the village of Maillaine.
Try the excellent chambres d’hôte at Mas de Mouret for two nights. Visit the lively St Remy market on a Wednesday morning, then have a superb lunch at La Maison Jaune.
In the afternoon, visit the incredible Cathédral d'Images near Baux de Provence – lovely and cool on a hot day. In the evening, find a quiet café to your liking in Maillane, Graveson, Chateaurenard or Noves.
www.masdemouret.com/index.php
www.franceweb.org/lamaisonjaune/
The restaurant Compagnie des Comptoirs is located in a beautiful, calm 14th-century cloister on Rue Joseph Vernet. The cooking, by the Michelin-starred Pourcel brothers, reflects the real southern-French style, 'les sauveurs de Sud'.
The food is full of flavour and local ingredients and is influenced by North Africa. Tables are placed in the palm-fringed courtyard, or you can eat in the cool of the stone dining room. The cocktail bar, with its white leather and glass, stays open late (for France) and is full of the young, beautiful and well-heeled of Avignon.
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