La Valette Boutique
Sanilhac-Sagriès, 30700 Gard, France
The largest Gothic palace in the world, a bridge that stops halfway across the Rhône, and a city that never outgrew its medieval ramparts. About thirty-five minutes from Uzès.
Avignon is a walled city on the Rhône, about thirty-five minutes from La Valette Boutique, built around the Palais des Papes, the vast Gothic palace where the popes ruled from exile in the fourteenth century. The Pont Saint-Bénézet, the half-bridge of the old song, reaches only partway across the river and stops. The old town, still fully enclosed by its medieval walls, is compact enough to see on foot in a day, busiest in July during the Festival d'Avignon and quieter, and just as atmospheric, the rest of the year.
| Location | Vaucluse, Provence |
|---|---|
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| UNESCO status | World Heritage Site since 1995 (Historic Centre: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge) |
| Distance from Uzès | 39 km · about 35 min by car |
| Nearest airport | Avignon (AVN), about 40 min; Nîmes (FNI), about 45 min |
| Typical visit | Half a day to a full day |
| Known for | The Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon |
| Best known event | Festival d'Avignon, each July |
| Market | Les Halles, daily except Monday |
From thirty-five minutes away
We expected a single monument and found a whole walled city built around it. The ramparts still fully encircle the old town, more than four kilometres of them, and walking in through one of the gates still feels like a real threshold, not a photo opportunity.
The bridge is smaller and stranger than the song suggests. Pont Saint-Bénézet reaches four arches out into the Rhône and simply stops, the rest washed away centuries ago, and standing at the broken end looking back at the palace is one of the better views in the region.
The official site, avignon-tourisme.com, holds current opening hours, ticket prices and the Festival d'Avignon programme. We recommend checking it before visiting.
What it is
For most of the fourteenth century, seven successive popes governed from Avignon rather than Rome, and the Palais des Papes they built is the largest Gothic palace in the world, nearly 15,000 square metres of state rooms, chapels and fortified towers.
The Pont Saint-Bénézet, built in the twelfth century, once crossed the full width of the Rhône on 22 arches. Repeated flooding destroyed most of it over the centuries, and what remains, four arches reaching out from the Avignon bank, is the bridge of the folk song 'Sur le Pont d'Avignon.'
"The palace at dusk, when the stone turns gold and the day-trip coaches have gone, is worth timing a visit around."La Valette Boutique, about 35 min away
Beyond the basics
When to go
Avignon is busiest during the Festival d'Avignon in July, when accommodation books out and the streets fill with performers. Outside that month, the city is considerably calmer.
Comfortable temperatures for walking the ramparts and the old town, without festival crowds or peak summer heat.
August is hot but noticeably quieter than July once the festival ends. Winter is genuinely peaceful, with the palace and bridge equally striking under a clear sky.
Hotel and restaurant prices rise and availability drops sharply during the Festival d'Avignon. Wonderful if that is what you are there for; frustrating otherwise.
Practical information
Full day combinations
Morning at the Palais des Papes, lunch in the old town, afternoon crossing the river to the quieter fort and monastery of Villeneuve, with the view back across to Avignon.
Both on the same route: the Pont du Gard in the morning, on to Avignon for the afternoon and the palace, about thirty minutes between the two.
A short day: the old town and palace of Avignon in the morning, back to Uzès for the afternoon market or a walk through the ducal town, thirty-five minutes between the two.
If visiting in July, book accommodation and any theatre tickets well ahead, and treat the whole old town as a stage; performances happen everywhere, not just inside the official venues.
Yes. It is about thirty-five minutes by car and combines the largest Gothic palace in the world with a compact, fully walled old town that works well as a half-day or full-day trip. The Festival d'Avignon in July adds a different, livelier reason to go, if you do not mind the crowds and higher prices.
About 39 km, roughly 35 minutes by car.
The Pont Saint-Bénézet, known as the Pont d'Avignon from the folk song, is a twelfth-century bridge that now reaches only partway across the Rhône, four arches out from the Avignon bank. You can walk out onto the remaining arches with a ticket, but it no longer connects to the far bank.
Yes, for most visitors. It is the largest Gothic palace in the world, and the audio guide included with the ticket does a good job of making the largely empty state rooms feel inhabited again. Allow at least 90 minutes.
Each July, typically running for around three weeks. It is one of the largest theatre festivals in the world, with an official programme and a much larger independent 'off' festival happening throughout the city.
Yes. They sit roughly thirty minutes apart on the same route from Uzès, and a morning at the Pont du Gard followed by an afternoon in Avignon is a natural pairing.
La Valette Boutique is in the Gard, about thirty-five minutes from Avignon and five minutes from Uzès. Two boutique apartments in an 18th-century stone house.
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