Avignon, Site of the Papal Palace in France, August 2000
Avignon had much to celebrate at the turn of the new century. It was named the European City of Culture in the year 2000. From May 27 to October 1, the city celebrated with events ranging from the visual arts to the movies, from architecture to fashion and musical concerts.
The city's importance lies in the fact that for many years, it was the seat of the Roman Catholic faith. This is the Palace of the Popes, so called due to the nine popes who lived here one after the other.
Even when the popes returned to Rome, Avignon continued to thrive eventually becoming a leading commercial and cultural hub in France.
A partial view of the Palais des Papes or Papal Palace with its round half tower
A view of the rear tower of the huge Palais des Papes or Papal Palace
I believe this was part of the Papal Palace
The Cathedrale de Notre Dame des Doms
A view of the Cathedrale de Notre Dame des Doms from another vantage point
An altar inside the Cathedrale de Notre Dame des Doms
Le Palais de la Monnaie or the Mint Palace
The Opera
Some ruins right next to the Avignon Tourism Office along the Rue de la Republique
Checking out the city map, just in case we missed a sight we needed to see
The Musee Lapidaire or the Lapidaire Museum along Rue de la Republique
A street scene
L'Eglise Saint Pierre
A closer view of the entrance to the Eglise Saint Pierre
With some of our fellow travelers on the way out of the city center to reboard our tour bus
We were given enough time to explore the city. Not only did we sightsee here, we also had time to window shop. Actually, I wanted to buy a pair of dark brown shoes to go with the pair of pants I bought in San Francisco prior to the trip. Didn't find anything though. Darn it!
The famous Avignon Bridge built during the 12th century
That's me reading our guide book
Here we all were waiting for our bus to pick us up and take us to our next destination in France