Touring Provence - Avignon - Archaeology Magazine Archive

Avignon has a primarily medieval flavor, though it was settled much earlier than that. Rocher des Doms, the highest place in town, was once the site of a Bronze Age settlement; now it's a terraced public garden with great views over the city and surrounding area. Avignon was the seat of the popes during much of the 14th and early 15th centuries and houses the grand and well-preserved Palais des Papes (Popes' Palace) as well as the Pont St.-Bénézet--the bridge made famous by the children's song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon." The Palais des Papes and the bridge now form part of a UNESCO World Heritage site in Avignon's historic center. There is an excellent museum of local Roman and Gallic sculpture (Musée Lapidaire) and if you look hard enough there are even some "real" Gallo-Roman ruins around the corner from the Place de l'Horloge, or main square, which is a lively center of modern life in Avignon. The square takes its name from the 14th- and 15th-century clock tower built into the 19th-century Hôtel de Ville, or Town Hall, that overlooks the square.

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