Your Weekend Getaway to Avignon
This time last year, one of my closest girlfriends and I escaped to the provençal town of Avignon. We wined and dined, absorbed the city's rich Roman history, and soaked up the sun – even in Winter. It was the perfect mini getaway, and I am ready to do it all over again. Read on for your guide to a chic, sun-filled weekend in Avignon.
Friday: Hotel Check-In & A Late Dinner
I arrived at the Avignon TGV station on a Friday night, and from the TGV station hopped on a tram that connects you to the city center station. Otherwise, the TGV station is a 10-12 minute car ride to Avignon proper, but there were zero taxis to be had. My train from Paris arrived late, perhaps explaining the taxi situation, and I ended up walking from the city center train station to the hotel. It was only a 15 minute walk, which felt good after two hours on the train. However, I would likely not do it again in the dark because of the poorly lit streets, and the route included a few random alleyways.
Photo credit: Le Crillon
After joining my friend at the very charming Hôtel d'Europe, we headed across the street for dinner at Le Crillon, a quaint, modern French bistro. Again it was late, probably around 9:45 p.m. so we went with the accessible choice, which also turned out to be an excellent choice. The food at Le Crillon was great – I confess, I ate a perfectly cooked hamburger, guzzled down by copious glasses of wine. The owner was super kind and let us stay and catch up into the wee small hours of the morning.
*Note: in Paris, you can almost always get a table at 9:45 p.m. However, in Provence during the off-season, it's trickier.
Saturday: Explore the City
Pont Saint-Bénézet (Pont d'Avignon)
Saturday, we spent the morning exploring the city and its cobblestoned streets. The city is old – 2.6 miles of wall preserved from the 14th century surround the old town or vielle ville. After promenading around the old town, we proceeded to Pont Daladier (pont = bridge in French) where we had a beautiful view of Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as Pont d'Avignon, a famous medieval bridge. It is indeed a must-see while visiting Avignon. There's a 5€ fee to go on the actual bridge; it's free for children under eight.
La Salamandre
While admiring our view of Pont Saint-Bénézet, we continued across Pont Daladier, in the opposite direction of Avignon, and headed toward the town of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in search of a restaurant off the tourist path – and we succeeded. After nearly 40 minutes of wandering, self-doubt and cold fingers, we stumbled upon La Salamandre, a cozy, French restaurant, and the special of the day was none other than fondue, accompanied by a lovely bottle of white wine from Domaine Pélaquié.
Post-food coma, we did what one must do when in Avignon: visit the Palace of Popes (Le Palais des Papes). And it was glorious. Construction of the palace began in AD 1252, and it became the Papal residence in the early 13th century but returned to Rome for good in 1370.
Le Palais des Papes
After roaming around the Palace of Popes, we headed back to the hotel, freshened up, and grabbed a drink (or two) at the hotel bar.
For dinner, we ate at the quirky Bistrot Balthazar, which was a little over a 10-minute walk from the hotel. The food was excellent and the service solid. You must book if you want a table on a Saturday night!
Sunday: Brunch & Gave La Bise Goodbye
Avignon – like many provencal towns – is sleepy on Sunday morning. We managed to grab a delicious coffee at Café Plaisir (not an espresso from a 20-year old machine) and then headed to a nearby bistro for a quick bite before parting ways at the train station.
All in all, a weekend for the books!