Avignon Pictures IV
Provence

Click top or bottom photos for Arles or Aix-en-Provence, Pont du Gard, Nimes

A small Côtes du Rhône vineyard up on the Rocher des Doms park near the Palais and Cathedral, Avignon, looking across the Rhône to Villeneuve-les-Avignon, where we'll go next time.

The little Rocher des Doms park provides a green breathing space in Avignon with terrific viewpoints over the Rhône river, a duck pond, kid-friendly amusements and a sundial that tells the time with the help of your own shadow.

One side of the vast Popes' Palace is built onto solid rock providing an experience a little reminiscent of Petra's Siq. Many trompe l'oeuil windows are just visible in the background.

A couple of pricey but pleasant restaurants occupy part of the Place du Palais. On the left is the less-than-gripping Cathédral Notre-Dame-des-Doms.

Interesting note...French restaurants are not permitted to serve alcoholic drinks without food so don't sit down and expect a cool and solitary glass of white wine to aid your recovery. Think croque monsieur + cold white wine.
And another thing...beware the Mistral wind, it strikes hard and fast in the summer, knocking parasols onto little old ladies and blasting napkins everywhere, while in winter it's steady but - originating in the Alps - brutally cold.

Restaurants and bars in Avignon are legion and reasonably priced, with Place de l'Horloge offering the biggest selection of dining establishments, though not the cheapest, naturally.

The child and amputee-friendly but unashamedly hideous tourist 'train' in front of the Musée du Petit Palais, Place du Palais. Behind the Petit Palais is the Pont d'Avignon, aka Pont St Bénézet.

The train choo-choos March - October 10 am - 7 pm but it doesn't go anywhere your legs can't get you in an hour, with considerably less embarrassment.

Museums in Avignon:
- Petit Palais: The superb, medieval art collection housed in the Petit Palais ranges from 13thC - 15thC, much of it by Italian masters working on and finally achieving an understanding of perspective. Botticelli's Virgin and Child is a highlight.
- Musée Calvet, in a marvelous 18thC palace, houses an eclectic collection from 19thC sculptures, varied masterly paintings, gothic clocks, Flemish curiosities and an Egyptian mummy.
- Collection Lambert is a lively contemporary art collection gathered in the 18thC Hôtel de Caumont.
- Fondation Angladon-Dubrujeaud, set in another fine 18thC mansion, with beautifully staged grand masters from Degas, Picasso, Cezanne and Modigliani to the only Van Gogh in Provence.
- Musée Louis Vouland looks after elaborate fixtures and fittings of the French aristocracy in appropriate surroundings.
- Musée Requien d'Histoire Naturelle is a natural history collection that could be either fed to the local dogs or thrown at them.
- Musée Lapidaire, a baroque chapel, specialises in uninspiring Roman stonework and sculptures.

An easy drive from Avigon are Aix-en-Provence, Pont du Gard and Nimes.

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