Page 172 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

170  PROVENCE AREA B Y AREA

w Street-by-Street: Avignon

Bordered to the north and west by the Rhône, the medieval
city of Avignon is the chief city of Vaucluse and gateway Chapelle St-Nicolas,
to Provence. Its walls cover nearly 4.5 km (3 miles) and named after the patron
are punctuated by 39 towers and seven gates. Within the saint of bargemen, is a
16th-century building
walls thrives a culturally rich city with its own opera house, on a 13th-century
university, several foreign language schools and numerous base. Entrance is via
theatre companies. The streets and squares are often filled Tour du Châtelet.
with buskers, and the Avignon festival in July, which includes
theatre, mime and cabaret, has now become a major
international event.

Porte du Rhône
FERRUCE
RUE

R U E D E L I M A S

. Pont St-Bénézet
Begun in 1177 by shepherd C E
boy Bénézet, this bridge is the N
subject of the famous rhyme R U E G R A N D E F U S T E R I E L A
Sur le Pont d’Avignon. R U E D E S G R O T T E S L A B A

U E D E
R
R U E S T - E T I E N N E

E
I
R E
E N
Hôtel des Monnaies T I
The façade of this former U S C A E
mint, built in 1619, bears the F R G
arms of Cardinal Borghese. E O
T E L
I U R
T R O
E
P H

E L ’
U
R E
D

E
C
A
L
Place de l’Horloge P
The main square was laid
out in the 15th century
and is named after the Key
Gothic clock tower above
the town hall. Many of Suggested route
today’s buildings date
from the 19th century.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p201 and pp215–16