The sun in its travels …
Avignon was the hub of the universe for most of the fourteenth century. Or at least the hub of Western European Christianity.
Category: Avignon
Saint Bénezet’s eclipse and bridge
Probably all French children learn the song “On the Bridge of Avignon” at a tender age, and most people learning French anywhere in the world also have to learn it Read More …
The Dilettante of Avignon
This theater was built in 1846-47 to replace an earlier theater that had been destroyed by fire. For many years it was called Opéra-Théâtre d’Avignon or just Opéra d’Avignon, but Read More …
The old Avignon Pass
The Avignon city tourist office at Square Agricol Perdiguier is just a five-minute walk from the central railroad station, straight ahead through the Porte de la République and along the Read More …
Petit Palais Museum
This ‘small palace’ in Avignon is small only when compared to the huge Palace of the Popes on the same square, but by any other standards the Petit Palais is Read More …
Calvet Museum in Avignon
The Calvet Museum is one of several worthwhile art museums in Avignon. Its main building is this mansion on Rue Joseph Vernet, which was built from 1741 to 1754 for Read More …
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (& bookshops)
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) is the title of a famous painting from the year 1907 by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). This painting has been described as revolutionary and Read More …
By train to Avignon
The train station Gare Avignon TGV was opened in 2001 on the outskirts of Avignon as part of the new LGV Méditerranée, the high-speed railway line from Lyon to Marseille. Read More …
Bikes and trams in Avignon
As you may have noticed, I’m a great fan of urban bike sharing systems. I have used them successfully in Paris, Lyon, Antwerp, Hamburg, Bern, Zürich, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Dortmund, Hannover, Read More …
The Rhône River in Avignon
The Rhône River starts in the Swiss Alps. It flows into and out of Lake Geneva (which is called Lac Leman in French) — so Lake Geneva could conceivably be Read More …