Friday, July 30, 2021

Walk Around Beautiful Historical Avignon

We went to Avignon so Shirley could shop so I took the opportunity to walk around and see what was new or different after our long absence.

One of the first things I noticed, this was the first time in a long time that the Opera - Theater of Avignon didn't look like there was reconstruction taking place.

Opera - Theater of Avignon

 The Opera - Theater of Avignon is located near the Pope's Palace on Place de l'Horloge. Built in 1825, it was rebuilt in 1847 after a fire. The Opera - Theater offers music, dance, theater and opera performances throughout the year.

The Pope's Palace is a historical palace in Avignon, one of the largest and most important Medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. One time fortress and palace, the papal residence was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palace, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Antipope Benedict XIII in 1394.

Pope's Palace

Next to the Opera - Theater of Avignon on Place de l'Horloge is the neo-classical town hall known as the Hotel de Ville built in the 19th century as a replacement for an older building.

Hotel de Ville

Only the 14th century clock tower remains from the original structure. The Gothic clock tower which gave the square its name was incorporated into the construction of the later Hotel de Ville.

Bell tower of Hotel de Ville

The bell tower of Basilique Saint-Pierre Church seen below is a 14th century Gothic Church in the middle of Avignon. The current church was built over a 3 year and 4 month's period and consecrated on 20 September 1359. It stands on the site of a much older church which may date back to the 7th century though the first texts mentioning the church date back to 1068.

Basilique Saint-Pierre Church

If you are looking for crepes, several good creperies are located on a shady square by Basilique Saint-Pierre Curch. If you are with kids who might not enjoy sitting through a multi-course meal, we recommend Creperie La Flourdiliz.

Creperies near Basilique Saint-Pierre Church

As our scheduled time to meet up with Shirley arrived, I headed to Place de l'Hotel and La Fourchette restaurant a few steps away. More about our meal there in a post to come.

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