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Le Grand Tinel
Statues Out Front
Rocher des Doms Gardens (Avignon, France)
Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms (Avignon, France)
Can anyone pleasee make a suggestion for pleasant - but inexpensive accommodation for 1 night in Avignon, easy access to.TGV. My train leaves at 6.00 am and I need to get somehow... not sure of distance, buses and taxis.
I've been researching general comments and websites but perhaps I can get some specific suggestions.
Avignon's TGV station is located outside of the city center. I don't remember seeing any hotels out that way. There is a shuttle bus connecting it to the city center which takes about 15 minutes (search for Navette Gare TGV on google.fr for some French language info), but it doesn't look like it runs before 5:38am, which is cutting it awfully close for a 6am train.
www.avignon-tourisme.com is the official tourist information site (and has an English version). You might be able to find out about taxis there.
I stayed at the Hotel Colbert (www.lecolbert-hotel.com) last year. It's on a quiet street about 2 blocks from the shuttle bus stop (which is just across from the Centre-Ville train station). It's very nice for a budget hotel.
Thanks for the reply and comment.
Pope's Palace and the Pont d'Avignon Bridge. After seeing Pope's Palace and Pont d'Avignon bridge, there are a few good museums, perhaps a good show at the theatre. Would only come here in future for specific festivals. It's a sleepy town otherwise (ie, if you like to sit around watching other people sitting around watching you, you'd probably enjoy this place.) Kind of boring and real touristy otherwise.
You can see the remains of a guard tower and a bit of the Roman city wall behind the church of St Agricol (14th century, but closed when closed for restoration when I visited).
There isn't a lot of information given, but I was pleased to see that Avignon is taking the trouble to conserve and display what bits of the Roman town are exposed when renovations/restorations take place. I beleve these stones are fairly recent discoveries.
This bridge is indeed a special on coz you either have seen it somewhere in the travel books or you could hav heard about it in a song ....
a little History a Pont Avignon
The bridge originally spanned the Rhône River between Avignon and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on the left bank. It was built between 1171 and 1185, with an original length of some 900 m (2950 ft), but it suffered frequent collapses during floods and had to be reconstructed several times. Over the centuries, it became increasingly perilous as arches collapsed and were replaced by rickety wooden sections.
The bridge was finally put out of use by a catastrophic flood in 1668, which swept away much of the structure. It was subsequently abandoned and no more attempts were made to repair it. Since then, its surviving arches have successively collapsed or been demolished, and only four of the initial 22 arches remain intact today.
Maybe I should kick myself. The palace was closed so I did not enter it. From the outside, it looked dull and stoney.
And remembered cobbled streets all around the palace. However, it seems beautiful when lit at night (from the postcards). Duh - what the heck am I talking about...
The Pont St.Benezet is the most famous site in Avignon for a trivial reason. It was completed in 1185 and was composed of two spans with 24 arches. It was quite narrow, only wide enough for a cart and totally unsuited for dancing. It was initially destroyed during the Albigensian War in 1226 and was rebuilt in 1234 but larger while the chapel was on the remaining original part of the bridge and was enlarged with the bridge reconstruction. It fell down to its present state in 1680. It is possible to walk on it from 9am to noon and 2-6 pm except Tuesday, entry fee. We did not walk down.
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