At last a train ride in France that was up to scratch: on time, we got a seat and a place for our luggage and we arrived in good order. We travelled through countryside that reminded me a little of parts of Spain - I should not have been surprised. After all, Southern France is part of the general Mediterranean experience.
The metal detectors at the entrance to Avignon station should make tourists feel more comfortable if only they were not a reminder of potential evils. Outside there was just one taxi parked in the rank and that appeared to be taken. After making us wait 10 minutes at which time we called the taxi number only to find no-one in, the taxi suddenly became free and took us to the hotel. It was just too far to walk there - though not nearly as far as the taxi journey seemed to suggest. (That was the worst experience we had in Avignon – yes, it's one place on our so-happy-we-went-there list.)
Old city centres suffer from difficult access and pedestrian-only roads and understandably taxis face challenges so this is always a reasonable excuse for a taxi driver to do what seems to be a long circuitous drive to get you to your hotel. As it turned out Richard had chosen an amazing location right next to the Palais de Papes and we did not begrudge the taxi ride.
Being a Sunday evening in winter and almost All Saints Day there were plenty of local families out and about enjoying their town square - the Place de l'Horloge - decked in its Autumn finery and the sparkling lights of a colourful carousel. We ate at one of those touristy restaurants that line the squares in tourist towns. You have to pay your tourist dues every now and then and the food was tasty and welcome after a day of travelling if not gourmet. This is definitely a town you could only properly experience by staying in the middle of the old city and it's a perfect little town, culturally, socially and historically. Not bad for shopping either!
We did not stand "sur le pont Avignon" but we loved Avignon not a whit less for it. We did not consider it necessary to pay €5 each to walk on the Pont Saint-Bénezet even though the original was built in the twelfth century. But we thoroughly inspected and enjoyed it from many other angles particularly from the viewpoint on the cliff above it in the Jardin du Rocher des Doms where children were enthusiastically pedalling old carts, some in the shape of animals, demonstrating that some children still enjoy the simple things in life if that's what's put in front of them.
From start to finish Avignon was a delight for me - though I had to do a lot of it on my own with Richard continuing to spend a lot of time in bed. It has a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage old city centre within something like 15 kms of continuous old fortification walls with the river Rhone just outside the walls. There are ancient buildings to inspect, fortifications to climb with spectacular views from the top, museums and art galleries featuring the spectrum from ancient to contemporary, theatres, a wonderful maze of shopping streets, a huge variety of excellent places to eat, a great marketplace, old churches – and more.
It's a city that rewards those who love to explore winding lanes on foot and we did a lot of that. I visited the Petit Palais and enjoyed an overabundance of mediaeval art as well as a wonderful historic building. A highlight was the visit to the Palais des Papes, an enormous and very impressive stone structure that towers over the old city. Fortunately Richard managed this adventure.
A new audiovisual tour guide system has just been introduced there making the visit rich in information that you can personalise to suit your interests. One feature that I loved was that when you are in a room, you can experience the space as it is now and by holding up the notepad guide device you can see as you move it around the room how the space was furnished in the time of the French popes. In each room, a portal allowed you to use your notepad to learn more about what the room was used for over the various centuries by the Popes and other inhabitants of the palace. The treasury clearly played a huge role in the history of the palace and as in Spain made me wonder about the churches that demanded and hoarded obscene riches when so many people had so little.
I walked the maze of back streets trying to locate the Pawn Shop and Silk Conditioning Museum as it sounded like a very strange pair of collections to house in one space (Municipal Archive). Alas I finally found it when there were no further opening times appropriate to our stay. I would have liked to learn more about the history of the oldest Mont-de-Piété in France (1610) - sounds like it too has something to do with the church. Then there was Musee Angladon in a lovely old eighteenth century building with some restored and furnished rooms which features the collection of art patron Jacques Doucet and has some memorable pieces produced by artists associated with this part of France.
The twelfth century golden virgin on top of the Notre Dame des Doms cathedral towers over the square, a magnet for tourists these days rather than pilgrims and constantly draws you back to the centre of the town. We left Avignon knowing that there would still be plenty more to explore and lots to enjoy should we ever return.
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