Palais Des Papes - Havre De Paix Iii

The palace is enormous, with beautiful gardens, spiral staircases, striking architecture, and an incredible history. It’s atmospheric in a way that really needs to be experienced in person. I’d dreamed of visiting the Papal Palace in Avignon for ages, and it lived up to that feeling. Give yourself time. I’d walk around Avignon first, then get an ice cream or coffee before going in and taking in the place and France’s remarkable heritage.

The Palais des Papes left me disappointed. Some rooms smelled strongly and unpleasantly, and the place felt quite empty. There wasn’t much context or display to help make sense of its history and importance. We added the Pont Avignon ticket too, which was fine, though it may not mean much if you don’t know the folk song about the bridge.

The garden was lovely, and the view over Avignon from the top of the castle is beautiful. This is an important historic site for a first visit to Avignon, and it’s so large that you’ll want at least a couple of hours to explore the different rooms and areas. We bought tickets for the palace and gardens, which included the histopad. The tablet shows augmented reality views of how some spaces once looked, but I found it distracting to walk around while splitting my attention between the screen and the castle. Once I entered a room, I felt pulled toward the tablet instead of taking in the surroundings. Some rooms also had written information, though not all of it was in English. I only realized afterwards that audio guides are available. If you’d rather listen than read from the tablet, I’d recommend choosing that option too.

The huge scale and grandeur are fascinating, and the place is so well restored and conserved. People were apologizing for the lack of furnishings or saying it isn’t like Versailles, but that’s not what matters here. The wall paintings inside and the political reasons behind the whole structure are what make it worth visiting.