As promised, here is the first batch of pictures from our first day in the charming city of Avignon, Provence. The city is situated on the left bank of the Rhône river, I’ve never seen such a beautiful river in my life, the blueish-green color is amazing! We stayed in the ancient town center, which is enclosed by medieval ramparts, they were built in the 14th century by the popes, and is one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts. Yes, if you are not aware (like I was in the beginning of this trip..haha), between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France. To house the popes during the Avignon Papacy, a papal residence was built, called Palais de Papes (Papel Palace), which is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. But I will talk about the palace on another post, because I have a lot of pictures to share just about that 😉

Picture of the Palais des Papes at night.

Avignon is also famous because of its medieval bridge, The Pont Saint-Bénézet, and also known as the Pont d’Avignon. It was built between 1177 and 1185, but sadly it was destroyed 40 years later. The bridge was rebuilt with 22 stone arches, but it was very costly to maintain, as the arches tended to collapse when the Rhône flooded. Today, only four arches are left, and on one of them stands the small Romanesque chapel of Saint-Bénézet. Although it is almost entirely destroyed, it’s one of the most beautiful monument in the city.

Like I said in the last post, it was raining on our first two days there, but it was not less beautiful 🙂

 

Touristy picture in the rain, my face is totally weird, but I can tell you that I was enjoying it for sure! hahaha I loved this city so much!

 

On the next post, I will share some pics of the city of Arles, so stay tuned 😉

xx