Avignon and the Côte d'Azur

Below:  Views of the walled city of
Avignon and the famous "Pont d'Avignon"

Click on the picture below for a short clip of an impromptu concert by a local singer in Avignon.

Click here for info and pictures of our side trip to Arles.

We got back on the train to Avignon after stay in Aix-en-Provence for another 3 nights. We got to Avignon during the famous yearly Festival time, in which theater companies and musicians from all over converge to put on organized shows, as well as impromptu shows both inside theaters and out on the streets.  There are tourists from everywhere: Northern France, Italy, England, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and a few Americans too!

While in Avignon, we marveled at the way the city is totally surrounded by castle-like walls (complete with slits for shooting arrows and pouring boiling oil at enemies).  Cars and people enter and exit through a few "ports" or gateways in the walls.  We were able to see the Palace of the Popes, and the famous "Pont d'Avignon", which is the basis for the children's song.

We did take a side trip on the direct TGV (fast train) line to the Côte d'Azur (a.k.a. The French Riviera) and got to swim in the Mediterranean Sea in Nice. Nice was fantastic! The city is large and yet it keeps a great feel of a small town. We were so close to Italy too, but that's for another journey!

Below:  Nice, Côte d'Azur.