An absolute must-see  event during the summer, the unforgettable Avignon festival is a event regrouping several street arts, focused on performances. It takes place every year during the month of July and litterally turns the city into a very joyful, lively place. From the Shakespearian performance to the urban circus, this festival has a diversity like no other.

The public often crosses the border, and goes from simple observer to full participant. A turbulent, vivid and very free festival.

Dates and program on the official website

The Palais des papes is undoubtedly a must-visit in Avignon. You won’t miss this gigantic gothic style construction once you get to the town which took its nickname from this monument.

It was built during the XIVth century by Benedict XII and Clement VI for the popes arrival in the city.  it is one of the top ten most visited monuments in France, with an average of 600,000 annual visitors. Symbol of the resisting popes within its time, it was also used for other purposes, including a military base, during the XIXth century and a cultural center today.

Can be visited all year long!

The Doms Cathedral, or “Notre Dame des Doms”, is, with the “pont d’Avignon” and “Palais des papes” one of the most famous monument in the city.

Three statues of virgin Mary are present there, measuring from a dozen centimeters to six meters, for the one on top of the cathedral.

Erected in Avignon more than a millenium ago, the cathedral was destroyed several times, to starting with the sarrasins in 731, then rebuilt about four hundred years later in 1111. Then the French revolution came and temporarly turned the cathedral into a prison.

Only one tower was erected at the time, as the provencal architectural tradition suggests.

You can visit it and hear its two organs typical sound from 4:30pm to 6:30pm during the summer.