Avignon has a huge number of attractions - impressive even by French standards. This is due to the peculiarity of the city's history, the peculiarities of the geographical situation, and a host of other factors. Almost all the interesting buildings are in the old part of the city, in size very small.

This place was inhabited since prehistoric times, then the city became a Greek colony, then a Roman one, captured by the Goths, Saracens, Moors and belligerent neighbors until in 1309. Avignon did not become the residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church. The pope's throne in 70 years has moved back to the Vatican, but during the "Avignon papacy" the next pope bought the city in the ownership of the church, and right up to the nationalization during the Great French Revolution, he stayed there. Each of the stages of history reflected on Avignon, and their tracks can be seen.

The oldest monuments belong to the era of Greek and Roman rule. They are very few here, much less than in other ancient cities of Provence, and the largest element is the remnants of the Roman forum on Place de l'Horloge. In addition to it, there are small fragments of the foundations of the buildings, here and there, the most remarkable - probably behind the Papal Palace.

The Avignon Tourism Center is not making Roman monuments . This makes it just a complex included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and it consists of three parts: the Papal Palace, the Notre-Dame de Dome cathedral and the Avignon Bridge (other name - Saint-Benezet Bridge) . Et sights of the category that should not be missed . The Papal Palace was built in the 14th century as the pope's residence, it's a huge palace-castle surrounded by tall walls . The buildings and walls have been preserved well, the interior has not been very much preserved (but where it is located there are such stunning paintings that you can not tear off) . You need at least three hours to inspect: it is very large (this is the largest medieval Gothic palace in Europe), and there is something to see .

Notre Dame- de-House was founded in the 12th century, it was built in Provencal var ante of the Romanesque style . This is an interesting building with a lot of unexpected details and unique frescoes of the 13th century . A lot of historical events are associated with the cathedral, once the pope served as the head - the head of the Catholic church . Avignon bridge (more precisely, its remains) built at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th century, collapsed in 14, was rebuilt - and four of its remaining arches refer precisely to this time . Once it crossed the state border (it ran along the river) . Over one of its parts (right in the middle of the span) is a small but very beautiful church of St. Nicholas ., various parts of it are dated 12-15 centuries .Unusual, bright complex, be sure to look it .

Avignon is one of the few cities in France where they have been preserved .The first city walls were built by the Romans, but only a few small fragments were left from them, later the walls were demolished and rebuilt several times, each time moving outwards - the city grew .Those walls that we see now are from the 12th to 15th centuries, and most of them are preserved .The watchtowers are at the same time, but the gates are partly old, and some are new (they were created in the 19th and 20th centuries to give way to urban transport) .In general, the level of safety is very high .Walls are also worth seeing, it's a rarity .

As in any ancient city, in Avignon, most of the monuments are churches .The first of these was laid very early - in the 7th century, as, for example, the church of St. .Agricola, decorated with quaint chapels, or the famous basilica of St. .Petra - a wonderful Gothic building, unlike many others, well preserved inside .There is also the church of Saint-Symphorien-les-Carmes built in the 12th century - the remains of the Carmelite monastery, the Celestino church is the remnant of the Celestino abode, and the church of St. .Didier of the same era .The peculiarity of the Avignon churches is that almost all of them were ruined during the Saracen invasion, and therefore the ancient version of the internal design was not preserved in them .

Another large group of attractions - the Cardinal residences. For those centuries that Avignon belonged to the church, the cardinals here have changed a lot, and their palaces in the city survived too much. The most famous is the Petit Palais, that is, the Small Palace, built in the 14th century. In general, they refer to the 15-17 centuries, some can be seen from the inside. Some of them are occupied by museums.

This is not an exaggeration: there are more than 200 buildings built before the beginning of the 18th century, there are very few new buildings here. There are houses of the 14th and 15th centuries, and there are older ones, and cardinal residences are only a part of them. Take a walk around the Old Town inside the walls - it's very atmospheric, look at the streets, especially the oldest ones - pedestrian, you'll see a lot of interesting things.