Tips and tours for explorers and travellers
Avignon City Guide
Ciceru walks Avignon's walled centre from Rue des Teinturiers, once lined with dye workshops and still turned by paddle wheels, past the Couvent des Cordeliers and Place de l'Horloge to the Palais des Papes and the broken Pont Saint-Bénézet over the Rhône.
- Country
- France
- Language
- French
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Plug
- type E
- Time zone
- Europe/Paris
- Emergency
- 112
- Tap water
- Generally safe
- Dialling code
- +33
The stops
Things to do in Avignon
Our Avignon route concentrates on the walled centre: the Rue des Teinturiers canal, Place Saint-Didier and Place de l'Horloge, then the papal complex itself, the Palais des Papes and Notre-Dame des Doms, finishing at the Pont d'Avignon on the Rhone.
Couvent des Cordeliers
Place St Didier
Place de l’Horloge
Basilique Saint-Pierre
Marvel at the exquisitely carved walnut doors and the flamboyant Gothic facade of this stunning parish church.
Palais des Papes
Notre Dame des Doms
Musée du Petit Palais
Pont d'Avignon
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Weather & crowds
Best time to visit
May and June give warm days without July's 31.5°C highs or Festival crowds. September stays warm but is the second wettest month at 91mm, just behind November's 92mm. Winter days reach 11°C, but the Mistral can gust past 110 km/h on up to 160 days a year, so pack a windproof layer whenever you come.
Winter
Dec–Feb2–11°C/ 36–53°F
Few visitorsOccasional rain
- Palais des Papes, no queues
- Mistral gusts and short daylight hours
Spring
Mar–May8–20°C/ 47–68°F
Getting busierOccasional rain
- Mild before summer crowds
- Aprils's 60mm is the wettest spring month
High summer
Jun–Aug17–30°C/ 63–87°F
Peak seasonDry
- Festival d'Avignon in July
- Highs of 31.5°C and festival crowds fill hotels
Don't miss
Festival d'Avignon, July, about three weeks
Early autumn
Sep–Oct12–24°C/ 54–74°F
BusyWet
- Wettest months: 91mm in September, 89mm in October
Late autumn
Nov6–15°C/ 43–58°F
Few visitorsWet
- November is the single wettest month at 92mm
Transport
How to get to & around Avignon
Avignon TGV station
| SNCF shuttle train to Avignon Centre | 4-5 min | €4.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Orizo tram T1 to the centre | 15-20 min | €1.40 |
| Taxi to the walled centre | 10 min | ~€9.00 |
Marseille arpt / St Charles
| TER regional train to Avignon | 1h59 | €24.50 |
|---|
Walking
Flat, compact centreCiceru's own route covers nine stops inside the ramparts in 1.5 hours on foot. The walled centre is flat, and cutting through Rue des Teinturiers is quicker than waiting for a bus.
Orizo bus and tram
Best for stationsA single fare is €1.40, a 10 journey carnet is €10.00, and a day pass covering Orizo, Uggo and Lio buses is €4.00. Tram T1 links Avignon TGV and Avignon Centre stations to the old town.
Velopop e-bikes
300 bikes, 30 docksElectric bikes across Grand Avignon, booked through the Velopop app. Useful for crossing to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon or Ile de la Barthelasse, less useful inside the compact walled centre.
Taxi
Short hops, at nightFlag fall starts around €2.80. Worth it late at night, for the TGV station transfer, or for the climb to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon's Fort Saint-André.
Walk the walled centre, since Ciceru's own route covers it on foot in 1.5 hours, and use the Orizo tram only to reach the TGV station or areas outside the ramparts.
Budget
How much does it cost to visit Avignon?
Avignon is cheap to move around in: a 10 journey Orizo carnet works out at €1.00 a trip against €1.40 for a single. Eating and drinking sit in the middle of French provincial prices. The taxe de sejour is charged per person per night on top of your room rate and is not shown in the booking price.
| Coffee at a cafe | €2.50–€3.50 |
|---|---|
| Weekday lunch (plat du jour) | €12.00–€18.00 |
| Draught beer, 0.5L | €3.50–€5.00 |
| Single Orizo bus or tram ticket | €1.40 |
| Orizo carnet, 10 journeys | €10.00 |
| Orizo/Uggo/Lio day pass | €4.00 |
| Taxi flag fall (prise en charge) | €2.80 |
Cash or card?
Cards and contactless are standard in cafes, on Orizo buses and trams, and in taxis. Keep a little cash for the Les Halles market stalls and for smaller shops in the Rue des Teinturiers area.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Avignon
Intra-muros, the walled centre
First visit, all on footEverything on Ciceru's route, from Rue des Teinturiers to the Palais des Papes, sits inside the ramparts. Streets are narrow and cobbled, hot in summer with little shade before the papal squares.
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Quieter, across the riverA separate town in the Gard department, facing Avignon across the Rhone, with Fort Saint-André on its hill. Buses cross the Pont Daladier in minutes, but there is little to do after dark on this side.
Ile de la Barthelasse
Green space, cyclingEurope's largest river island, reached by footbridge or bus from the old town, with campsites and market gardens rather than hotels. Peaceful, but you cycle or bus in for every meal and sight.
Near Avignon Centre station
Practical, early departuresJust outside the southern ramparts, a short walk from Porte de la Republique. Useful for an early TGV connection via the shuttle train, but loses the walled centre's night atmosphere.
The tours
Avignon, one story at a time
€71.5 hours
Avignon: essential landmarks, a self-guided walking tour with audio
Filippo Anzivino- Audio
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Word of mouth
What travellers say
Safety
Is Avignon safe?
Violent crime against visitors is rare in Avignon. The pattern that official French advisories describe nationally, pickpocketing worked in pairs around crowded monuments and transport hubs, applies to the queues at the Palais des Papes and Pont d'Avignon and to the bars along Rue des Teinturiers at night.
Monument queues
Pickpocket teams work distraction and crowd cover, the pattern UK and other foreign ministries warn about across France. The queue for the Palais des Papes and the approach to the Pont d'Avignon are the busiest points in the walled centre.
Mistral wind
The Mistral blows on 120 to 160 days a year and can gust past 110 km/h. It loosens roof tiles and shutters and makes cycling on the Ile de la Barthelasse or across the Rhone bridges hard going. Secure anything on a balcony or terrace.
Reporting a theft
Report a theft to the police to get an official statement for any insurance claim. France's general emergency number, 112, works from any phone and reaches police, fire or ambulance services.
Medical help
Call 112 for a genuine emergency. Pharmacies, marked with a green cross, handle minor problems and post the address of the nearest pharmacie de garde open outside normal hours on their door.
Good to know
Good to know
Free electric shuttles in town
Orizo runs free electric Baladine and CityZen shuttles looping the walled centre, on top of the paid bus and tram network. Handy if you have walked the ramparts and want a lift back to your hotel.
Velopop needs the app
The 300 electric bikes across 30 docks run on an app based system, not a card at the dock. Set it up before you need it if you plan to reach Villeneuve-lès-Avignon or the Barthelasse island by bike.
City pass covers monuments and transport
The Avignon City Pass costs €24.00 for 24 hours or €32.00 for 48, timed from first use. It covers the Palais des Papes, the Pont d'Avignon and Fort Saint-André, plus Orizo buses and trams.
Questions
Avignon FAQ
The SNCF shuttle train takes 4 to 5 minutes to Avignon Centre station, just outside the ramparts. The Orizo tram T1 covers the same route for €1.40 a ticket, and a taxi takes about 10 minutes into the walled centre.
The Orizo carnet of 10 journeys costs €10.00, working out at €1.00 a trip against €1.40 for a single ticket. A day pass covering Orizo, Uggo and Lio buses is €4.00 if you are making more than three trips in a day.
Violent crime against visitors is rare. The main risk is pickpocketing in crowds, the same pattern French and foreign advisories describe nationally, so keep valuables secure around the Palais des Papes queue and the bars on Rue des Teinturiers after dark.
Yes, the taxe de sejour is charged per person per night on top of your accommodation price, collected by the property or through booking platforms such as Airbnb, and is not included in the price you see when you book directly.
The Festival d'Avignon runs every July for about three weeks, using the Palais des Papes courtyard and other monuments as stages. Hotels fill up and prices rise well before it starts, so book several months ahead if your visit falls in July.
Yes. The walled centre is flat and compact enough that Ciceru's own route covers nine stops, from Rue des Teinturiers to the Pont d'Avignon, in about 1.5 hours on foot. You only need transport to reach Villeneuve-lès-Avignon or the TGV station.
May and June give warm days, around 20°C to 24°C highs, without July's 31.5°C peak or the Festival crowds and hotel prices. September is warm too but is the city's second wettest month, so pack for rain if you come in early autumn.
Yes. Avignon's mains water comes from Durance groundwater and is treated with chlorine gas, with sampling by an approved laboratory and oversight from the regional health agency at the source, the network and the tap. There is no need to buy bottled water, though the Mistral can occasionally add a faint chlorine taste after heavy treatment.