Palais des Papes à Avignon © Planque

Emblematic places

An exceptional cultural heritage

THE PALAIS DES PAPES

The Palais des Papes (Popes’ Palace) is the symbol of the church’s influence on the Christian West in the 14th century. Built in less than twenty years, with construction starting in 1335, the palace is mainly the work of two popes, Benedict XII and his successor Clement VI.

The monument is the most important Gothic palace in the world, (15,000 m² of floor space, or the volume of 4 Gothic cathedrals), and offers the visitor access to more than twenty areas, locations of historical events with universal impact, in particular, the private apartments of the pope and their fabulous decorative frescos, crafted by the Italian artist Matteo Giovannetti. The monument also offers visitors regular cultural activities throughout the year.

Thematic and educational exhibitions, themed visits, and concerts are organised here. During the summer season a large art exhibition occupies the Grande Chapelle, while the performances of the Festival d’Avignon, created by Jean Vilar in 1947, take place in July in the Cour d’Honneur of the Palais.

The Palais des Papes welcomes more than 650,000 visitors a year. It is one of the 10 most visited monuments in France

Palais des Papes - ©PLANQUE M
Villa créative

The Creative Villa

A hybrid place of collaboration and sharing between the scientific, academic and entrepreneurial worlds. Led by Avignon University, this setting dedicated to culture and CCI is also intended to be a laboratory for the cultural policies of tomorrow.  Several spaces coexist together: a lodge reserved for research, the university’s laboratories and their partners, a floor totally dedicated to the Lifelong Learning Service (SFTLV), a Co-working space, a high-end auditorium with 80 seats, an audiovisual capture and calibration studio, three areas of 100 m² each for pop-up uses (living lab, exhibitions, screenings, performances…).

PONT D’AVIGNON

The Saint-Bénézet bridge, commonly called the Pont d’Avignon and located just outside of Avignon, is a bridge that was constructed between 1177 to 1185 over the Rhône, starting from the city of Avignon on the left bank. The Pont Saint-Bénézet or Pont d’Avignon was made famous by the popular song ‘Sur le pont d’Avignon’.

Pont Saint-Bénézet (ou pont d'Avignon) - ©KESSLER G

Opéra du grand Avignon

Opéra du Grand Avignon

Le saviez-vous

Did you know?

The Opera House was renovated in 2021, its chandelier with its 626 pieces is the iconic feature of this jewel.

An essential piece of the cultural influence of Greater Avignon, the Opera also reserves a significant place for contemporary repertoire, as well as for the promotion of young performers, singers and musicians. A place of artistic creation, the Opéra Grand Avignon’s mission is to present shows to the widest possible audience.

The roman theatre of Orange

The Théâtre Antique d’Orange is certainly one of the most beautiful legacies of Imperial Rome. An exceptional testimony of antiquity which is part of UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Roman theatre is the best-preserved theatre in Europe.

Above all it owes its fame to its magnificent stage wall, surprisingly well-preserved and unique in the West. A major venue for shows in Roman times, it is still a venue which pleases music lovers from all over the world.

Théâtre Antique d’Orange - ©GILLET V

The maison Jean Vilar

The Maison Jean Vilar is the perfect place for those who wish to access the knowledge of Vilar, his projects, his experiences, his struggles and how he got through them, and finally, all the steps of artistic and cultural decentralisation throughout France over the past fifty years. Boosting the influence of the work of Jean Vilar.

Available to all, general public and professionals, students, teachers, researchers: a collection of books, iconographic and audiovisual documents on the show; information on the regional cultural life, on the Festival d’Avignon, on cultural decentralisation, which Jean Vilar has devoted his life to.

Open all-year-round, in connection with local life and the performing arts, a programme of activities takes place throughout the year: exhibitions, animations, projections, meetings.

Maison Jean Vilar - ©AJV

The Lambert Collection

Contemporary Art collection

The Lambert Collection opened its doors in June 2000, during the “Avignon, capitale européenne de la culture” (Avignon, European capital of culture) celebrations.

It is in this former 18th-century mansion that Yvon Lambert, gallery owner and collector, decided to place his personal collection.
350 works dating from the 60s to today constituted the first collection, which now holds more than 1200 items.

Collection Lambert - ©HOCQUEL_A

The Calvet musuem

The collections of the Calvet Museum cover archaeology, decorative arts, ethnography, and fine arts (art objects, drawings, sculptures and paintings from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries.).

All the works of this museum, with the exception of those that have been loaned or donated to the museum, belong to the Public Foundation Calvet Establishment. Modern art is now represented in the Victor Martin Hall, inaugurated in May 2010. The collection of paintings presents works from the 15th to the 20th century.Many sculptures are also on display, featuring works by Camille Claudel, Francesco Laurana, Giambologna, James Pardier, Italian and Nordic bronzes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries…

The collection of drawings, not on display, contains the sketches of artists belonging mainly to the French and Italian schools but also to the Nordic and Spanish schools.

Musée Calvet - ©ABRY_H

The Chêne noir Theater

The Théâtre du Chêne noir is located in the former chapel of Sainte-Catherine, located on Rue Sainte-Catherine, behind the Palais des Papes in Avignon. Gérard Gelas’s company moved there in 1971.

Salle Léo Ferré - ©Théâtre du Chêne Noir

La Fabrica

This creative space of the Festival IN d’Avignon allows the Festival to remain as a flagship of international creation by supporting not only recognized artists but also young emerging talents.

The building houses a rehearsal hall, a performance hall and 18 apartments for artists and technicians. There are also several technical spaces and an audiovisual studio.

La FabricA © Christophe Raynaud de Lage

AJMI: Association for Jazz and Improvised Music

Created in 1978 in Avignon, today the concert hall is located at La Manutention, together with the Utopia cinemas.Internationally recognized, it welcomes the best musicians of the current jazz scene, both celebrated and still little-known (Michel Petrucciani, Louis Sclavis, René Bottlang, David S.Ware, Chris Potter…).

The AJMI is also a year-round training provider for amateur or professional musicians, in the form of internships and master classes.The association works tirelessly to promote the music it defends: a contemporary, dynamic and creative jazz. Under the label AjmiSeries, it produces artists whose creative work it will continue to support.

Scène de l'AJMI - ©AJMi-jazz
La Scala Provence

La Scala Provence

Le saviez-vous

Did you know?

La Scala Provence opened its doors in July 2022 in Avignon.

Open to all artistic disciplines, La Scala Provence’s programming invites young artists and stage stars to perform in Avignon throughout the year. With its four performance and concert halls, the venue offers theatre, dance, music, circus arts, humour and visual arts.

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