Published on Jun, 2024
This was the first of 4 exceptional private tours we took with tour guide Romain from Guide Provence. We had so much fun! We learned so much! This tour was worth every penny. I highly recommend Guide Provence and Romain for all of your private tour needs.
On our first full day in France, my adult son and I met Romain in front of Avignon's Palais des Papes on a beautiful rainy Sunday. Our original plan was to tour the entire city with Romain, to include an overview of the Palais de Papes, but because of the rain we chose to mostly stay indoors and take a closer, more in-depth look at this fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Site (the Palais des Papes); followed by a brief walk through the 12th Century Avignon Cathedral; followed by climbing the hill up to the Jardin des Doms, which allowed for a wonderful overlook of the river and landscape below; followed by an informative walk along the Pont Saint-Benezet (Pont d'Avignon).
This was our first time meeting Romain, and we were in awe! He knew so much and spoke so articulately and so readily about all that he knew! We learned about French history, papal history, Roman history, French and Roman culture, the French language (in bits and pieces over the 4 days together); architecture, and art. I could not get enough!
I had read many reviews of the Palais des Papes while preparing for our trip to Provence. The reviews, on all different websites, were mixed. A lot of them raved about this can't-miss historical site, but lots of others mentioned that there's simply not much to see inside the palace (because it's largely not furnished) ... unless visitors use one of the computer tablets issued by the front desk ... and the tablets themselves also received very mixed reviews, far more negative reviews than positive ... in that they're apparently difficult to operate AND in that visitors must then keep their nose in their tablets rather than looking around them to see the sights. Furthermore, many Palais de Papes reviews said that very little information inside was printed in English -- and I (sadly) don't read French. Another frequently stated negative was that the lines can be long and the crowds can be big.
For all of these reasons, many of the Palace of Popes reviews I read suggested that tourists limit their visits to just the outside of this impressive structure.
But my son and I were really interested in the inside and we wanted to learn more than the just the outside could provide. We also wanted to avoid long lines and crowds!
For those reasons, I chose to hire a private guide to take us around Avignon, the first of a series of private tours I ultimately chose for our 8 days in Provence.
Romain impressed the heck out of us! He was personable, polite, well-spoken, far more knowledgable than I ever expected from any tour guide — and knowledgable in so many different areas, too (culture, history, religion, language, art, architecture, etc). For us, there were no lines, thanks to Romain. Also, he strategically avoided all crowds as he showed us around the place. He made it all so fun and interesting!
While it was pouring rain outside, Romain took us through every nook and cranny of the Palais de Papes, regaling us with all kinds of interesting facts and vignettes that made the place come alive. (I cannot stress enough just how much he knows about everything there is to see there. What a joy!)
After touring the papal residence, we entered the 12th century Avignon Cathedral (Notre Dame des Doms d'Avignon) next door, which is crowned by a gilded statue of Virgin Mary.
After the cathedral, we went up the hill to the Jardin des Doms where, from our high vantage point, we looked out over a portion of old Avignon, the Rhone River, the truncated Pont Saint-Benezet, the medieval Philippe-le-Bel Tower which originally marked the terminus of the Pont Saint-Benezet, and the 14th century fortress Fort Saint-Andre. Of course, Romain filled us in on all the fascinating historical details about each site’s history and relevance, the history and significance of the Rhone, the geographical and climatological limitations and features of the Rhone, and more.
He then took us back down the hill to the Pont Saint-Benezet (which requires a separate ticket from the Palais de Papes) where we once again encountered no lines.
As we walked to the end of the ruins of this famous medieval bridge, Romain told us all about the bridge's history, how it came to eventually end in the middle of the Rhone instead of at the Tour Philippe-le-Bel where it once ended, the history and lore of Saint Benezet, the bridge's 2-story dedicated chapel, and more.
After exiting the bridge, we walked around the exterior of the old city wall as we learned even more about the city's very interesting architecture -- like how to guess in which century any given building was built.
Finally, as we wrapped up our awe-inspiring tour, Romain made a few suggestions for where we may want to have lunch. He was spot on with his recommendations. We had a wonderful iconically French lunch at a quaint little spot along a narrow cobble-stoned street on a cozy rainy day. Perfection!
This was an absolutely fabulous tour of the highlights of Avignon. I couldn't have hoped for a better day.
We definitely got far more than our money's worth on this expert-led tour, and we couldn't wait to take the other 3 private tours we booked with this same incredible guide. Thank you for everything, Romain!
If interested, I also posted a general review of Guide Provence and Romain's outstanding service here:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187253-d17733634-Reviews-Guide_Provence-Marseille_Bouches_du_Rhone_Provence_Alpes_Cote_d_Azur.html
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