Avignon Hotels

A walled medieval city on the River Rhone, this is a town whose glory days as a Catholic Church powerhouse are long gone. These days, there's a sense of zesty youth and a world-famous summer theatre festival.

The undisputed highlight is the Palais des Papes, a late-Gothic masterpiece that, although largely denuded of decoration, fires the imagination with its sheer scale and dominates the town. The Pont St-Bénézet is the bridge of the song Sur Le Pont. Between the two, the town is a maze of narrow streets dotted with ornate churches, pavement cafes and museums.

The inclusion of the Palais des Papes and the Pont St-Bénézet in the mid-90s in the UNESCO World Heritage list gave Avignon added prestige among the many Provençal towns and villages jostling for position on the tourist map.

Find one-off boutiques in medieval streets, buy yourself a local speciality such as pottery, dried lavender, art and pastel dyed fabrics, olive oil or wine, or hunt down a bargain at the flea market in Place des Carmes. Affluent Avignon has its fair share of upscale shopping outlets.

The Jardin des Doms, a two-minute walk from the Palais des Papes, provides a green refuge from summer afternoon heat and an inspiring vantage point over the river, the city and across to Villeneuve-les-Avignon. For a walk or a bicycle ride, use the towpaths along the Rhône or take a walk along what's left of the bridge.

Get your culture fix at the Opéra d'Avignon, overlooking Place d'Horloge, and at the Hivernales for contemporary dance. There's always something arty going on at La Manutention, a converted warehouse, while the Palais du Roure is the hub of Provençal culture.

Provençal cuisine soaks up the flavours of its key ingredients - olive oil, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary and plenty of garlic. But there's much more to Avignon: first-class French restaurants mix influences from Lyon, Auvergne and Périgord, the Mediterranean, northern Africa, the Middle East and the tropics. The pick of the crop are in the heart of town.

Take in the sun and scenery in the late afternoon sitting at the end of the Pont St-Bénézet with a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a picnic of fresh bread, olives, tapenade (olive spread), tomatoes, cheese and basil, and a pastry or two, all bought at the market.