Avignon tour

Avignon.

Audio guide visit of The Palace of the Popes and "Pont saint Bénézet", famous bridge of Avignon..

  The Palace of the Popes stands as the mighty symbol of the church’s influence throughout the western Christian world in the 14th century.

Construction was started in 1335 and completed in less than twenty years under the leadership of two builder popes, Benedict XII and his successor Clement VI.

The Popes’ Palace is the biggest Gothic palace in all of Europe (15,000 m2 of floor space, which is the equivalent of 4 Gothic cathedrals).

The visitor can see over 20 rooms, scenes of historic events, in particular the pope’s private chambers and the frescoes painted by the Italian artist Matteo Giovannetti.

 "Pont saint Bénézet", famous bridge of Avignon..
THE LEGEND OF SAINT BENEZET
A young shepherd named Benezet, in 1177 down from the mountains of the Ardeche.

He told himself sent by God to build a bridge at Avignon. At first they took him for a fool, but he heard a voice from heaven says to her:

"Benezet, take your rod and go down to Avignon, the capital’s waterfront: the people you speak and you tell them that we must build a bridge ".

 After the visit of Avignon, let me take you to Châteauneuf-du-Pape for a wine tasting, a medieval village on the side of a hill, guarded by the ruins of an ancient chateau towering above.

A literal translation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, "the Pope’s new house", is actually true.

From the chateau hill you have an outstanding view in all directions, mostly of vineyards, of course.

Off to the east and south,the Rhône winds across the fields, and the afternoon sun turns it silver.

Stony Ground, the earth is amazingly rocky, but that’s one of the secrets of the outstanding Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine, the thirteen grapes wine.

The stones act as a storage heater, soaking up the Provencal sunshine during the day, and releasing the heat into the night, long after sunset.