Avignon & Around - Provence and the Cote d'Azur - page 404

Le Marmiton (see 17)

31 L'Epice and Love D5

32 L'Épicerie C3

33 Les 5 Sens B3

34 Les Halles D4

35 Monoprix C4

36 Numéro 75 F5

Drinking

37 Cafe la Scène B2

Le Cid Café (see 14)

38 L'Esclave B2

39 Red Sky D3

40 Utopia Bar D2

Entertainment

AJMI (see 30)

Cinéma Utopia (see 30)

41 Opéra Théâtre d'Avignon C3

Shopping

42 Comtesse du Barry B3

43 Oliviers & Co B3

PALACE

Palais des Papes
Offline map Google map
(Papal Palace; www.palais-des-papes.com ; place du Palais; adult/child €6/3;
9am-8pm Jul, 9am-9pm Aug, shorter hours Sep-Jun) The immense Palais des Papes is the
world's largest Gothic palace and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Built when Pope Cle-
ment V abandoned Rome in 1309 to settle in Avignon, it was the seat of papal power for
70-odd years. The immense scale, cavernous stone halls and vast courtyards testify to the
popes' wealth; the 3m-thick walls, portcullises and watchtowers emphasise their insecur-
ity.
Today, it takes imagination to picture the former luxury of these vast, bare rooms, but
PDA-style audio-video guides introduced in 2012 show 2- and 3D imagery of the once
sumptuous furnishings. Even without, you can see the splendour in the 14th-century