Avignon is a commune in the south-east of France. During this visit we saw two very famous places in Avignon: the Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon. Avignon was a pretty city, but I think that the history is what made this place the most special.
Palais des Papes
The Palais des Papes translates to the Palace of the Popes. As the name states, this really was the Pope's palace. Avignon became the the residence for the Popes in 1309 and the palace's conduction began in 1252... isn't it crazy how long ago that was! Seeing these historic sites was so amazing because it felt like taking a step into history. Although I didn't have that much knowledge of popes or Catholic history, I did think that this visit was very interesting. Avignon was under Papal control until it became part of France during the French Revolution in 1791.
This palace is the largest Gothic building of the Middle Ages. It is one of the largest and most important medieval ages. I though the gothic architecture was very interesting to see. A lot of the building has been left unrestored which gave you a really good look at how it used to look like. The palace was huge!! It was very easy to get lost because there were so many rooms.
My favorite part was climbing to the top of the palace and seeing the view of the city.
At the top of the world!
Pont d'Avignon
This bridge actually is known as a famous children's song, although I never heard the song before I thought that was pretty interesting. The Pont d'Avignon was built during the middle ages. It used to have more arches, but now only four of them remain. The bridge definitely has a lot of history, it is actually classified as a World Historic Site. I was glad I had the opportunity to see it.
I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about Avignon! If you're interested in Middle Age history & Gothic Architecture, I suggest looking into Avignon. I found myself more interested in Roman history and architecture, but I still enjoyed seeing this part of history as well.