Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hôtel La Mirande:
Locatedonthesquare,Avignon'sfinesthotelwelcomesvisitors.
Findtheatriumloungeandconsideracoffeebreakamidtheunderstatedluxury(€12after-
noon tea served daily 15:00-18:00, includes a generous selection of pastries). Inspect the
royal lounge and dining room; cooking demos are offered in the basement below. Rooms
start at about €425 in high season.
•TurnleftoutofthehotelandleftagainonRuedelaPeyrollerie(“CoppersmithsStreet”),
then take your first right on Rue des Ciseaux d'Or. On the small square ahead you'll find
the...
Church of St. Pierre:
The original chestnut doors were carved in 1551, when tales
ofNewWorlddiscoveriesracedacrossEurope.(NoticetheIndianheaddress,topcenterof
left-side door.) The fine Annunciation (eye level on right-side door) shows Gabriel giving
Mary the exciting news in impressive Renaissance 3-D. Now take 10 steps back from the
door and look way up. The tiny statue breaking the skyline of the church is the pagan god
Bacchus, with oodles of grapes. What's he doing sitting atop a Christian church? No one
knows. The church's interior holds a beautiful Baroque altar. (For recommended restaur-
ants near the Church of St. Pierre, see “Eating in Avignon,” later.)
• Facing the church door, follow the alley to the left, which was covered and turned into a
tunnel during the town's population boom. It leads into...
Place des Châtaignes:
The cloister of St. Pierre is named for the chestnut
(châ-
taigne)
trees that once stood here (now replaced by plane trees). The practical atheists of
the French Revolution destroyed the cloister, leaving only faint traces of the arches along
the church side of the square.
• Continue around the church and cross the busy street to the Banque Chaix. Across little
Rue des Fourbisseurs find the classy...
15th-Century Building:
With its original beamed eaves showing, this is a rare
vestige fromthe Middle Ages. Notice howthis building widens the higher it gets. Amedi-
evalloopholebasedtaxesonground-floorsquarefootage—everythingabovewastax-free.
Walking down Rue des Fourbisseurs (“Street of the Animal Furriers”), notice how the top
floors almost meet. Fire was a constant danger in the Middle Ages, as flames leapt easily
from one home to the next. In fact, the lookout guard's primary responsibility was watch-
ingforfires,nottheenemy.VirtuallyallofAvignon'smedievalhomeshavebeenreplaced
by safer structures.
• Walk down Rue des Fourbisseurs and turn left onto the traffic-free Rue du Vieux Sextier
(“Street of the Old Balance,” for weighing items); another left under the first arch leads
10 yards to Avignon's...
Synagogue:
Jews first arrived in Avignon with the Diaspora (exile) of the first cen-
tury. Avignon's Jews were nicknamed “the Pope's Jews” because of the protection that
