Avignon
Avignon was the largest city we visited during our travels around the area. Avignon has maintained its city walls and is home to the grand Palace of the Popes.
The city walls are impressive; an addition to Avignon funded by a resident pope who felt at risk from invasion and rebellion.
As the name suggests, the Palace of the Popes, was once the home to a sequence of popes who resided not in the Vatican embedded in Italy but within Avignon in France. Over time the palace grew with each pope’s desire to display greater power and wealth. The end result being an incredible structure deep within the city walls.
Visitors can now tour the building and look around. Unlike the Vatican, the Palace of the Popes is largely stripped of its interior decoration. The building is large, powerful, and projects the feeling of a defensive castle more than of a palace.
Avignon is home to a bridge that does not reach the other bank. For a fee, you can walk along the top.
