Editing Avignon (section)

== Cultural heritage ==
Avignon has a very large number of sites and buildings (177) that are registered as historical monuments.<ref>{{Search Mérimée|84007}}</ref>
[[File:Avignon shops.jpg|thumb|upright|Rue de la République, the city's central boulevard]]

In the part of the city within the walls the buildings are old but in most areas they have been restored or reconstructed (such as the post office and the Lycée Frédéric Mistral).<ref>{{cite web | title=L'extension du XX<sup>e</sup> siècle | url=http://archives.avignon.fr/expo/panneaux.donut?cid=18 | publisher=Archives Municipales Avignon | language=fr | access-date=26 July 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117185840/http://archives.avignon.fr/expo/panneaux.donut?cid=18 | archive-date=17 January 2012 | url-status=dead}}</ref> The buildings along the main street, Rue de la République, date from the [[Second Empire (architecture)|Second Empire (1852–70)]] with [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann|Haussmann]] façades and amenities around Place de l'Horloge (the central square), the neoclassical city hall, and the theatre district.

[[File:Avignon statues.jpg|thumb|upright|Statues gaze over the ''Place de l'Horloge'' in the town centre]]
[[File:Avignon facades.jpg|thumb|Paintings on the façades of buildings in the town centre]]
[[File:Avignon-Hôtel de ville-bjs180817-01.jpg|thumb|[[Hôtel de Ville, Avignon|Hôtel de Ville]]]]
Listed below are the major sites of interest with those sites registered as historical monuments indicated:

* [[Notre Dame des Doms]] (12th century),{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081814|PA00081814 Notre Dame des Doms}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> the cathedral is a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] building, mainly built during the 12th century; the most prominent feature of the cathedral is the 19th century gilded statue of the Virgin which surmounts the western tower. The [[mausoleum]] of [[Pope John XXII]] (1334){{Palissy Icon}}, within the cathedral, is a noteworthy example of 14th-century Gothic carving.<ref>Ministry of Culture, Palissy {{Palissy|PM84000105|PM84000105 Tomb of Pope John XXII}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
* {{Lang|fr|[[Palais des Papes]]|italic=no}} ("Papal Palace") (14th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081941|PA00081941 Palais des Papes}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> almost dwarfs the cathedral. The palace is a monument and sits within a square of the same name. The palace was begun in 1316 by [[John XXII]] and continued by succeeding popes through the 14th century, until 1370 when it was finished.
* Minor churches of the town include three built in the Gothic [[architectural style]]:
** Church of Saint-Pierre (14th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081834|PA00081834 Church of Saint-Pierre}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> which has a graceful façade and richly carved doors;
** Church of Saint-Didier (14th century);{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081832|PA00081832 Church of Saint-Didier}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> and
** Church of Saint-Agricol (14th century).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081831|PA00081831 Church of Saint-Agricol}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
* Other religious buildings:
** Church of Saint-Symphorien (14th century, former Carmelite monastery church).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081825|Couvent des Carmes (ancien)}}</ref>
** Church of Montfavet (14th century).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA84000079|Église de Montfavet et tours de l'ancienne livrée}}</ref>
** Chapel of the Oratory.{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081816|Chapelle de l'Oratoire}}</ref>
** Chapel of the White penitents (16th century).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00125729|Ancienne église Notre-Dame la Principale dite aussi ancienne chapelle des Pénitents blancs}}</ref>
** Chapel of the Grey penitents (18th century).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00103302|Chapelle des Pénitents-Gris}}</ref>
** Chapel of the Black penitents.{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081817|Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs de la Miséricorde}}</ref>
** Synagogue (19th century).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081947|Synagogue}}</ref>
* Civic buildings are represented most notably by:
** The [[Hôtel de Ville, Avignon|Hôtel de Ville]] (city hall) (1846),{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081880|PA00081880 Hôtel de Ville}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> a relatively modern building with a [[bell tower]] from the 14th century,
** The old ''Hôtel des Monnaies'',{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081864|PA00081864 Hôtel des Monnaies}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> the [[papal mint]] which was built in 1610 and became a music-school.
** Hospital Sainte-Marthe.{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081837|Hôpital Sainte-Marthe}}</ref>
** Hotel of Saint-Priest (Hotel de Monery, 18th century).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081863|Hôtel de Monery ou de Saint-Priest}}</ref>
** House of King René (15th century).{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081912|Immeuble dit maison du roi René}}</ref>
* The city walls,{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081943|PA00081943 Ramparts}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> built by the popes in the 14th century and still encircle Avignon. They are one of the finest examples of [[medieval fortification]] in existence. The walls are of great strength and are surmounted by [[machicolated]] battlements flanked at intervals by 39 massive towers and pierced by several gateways, three of which date from the 14th century. The walls were restored under the direction of [[Eugène Viollet-le-Duc]].
* Bridges include:
** The ''[[Pont Saint-Bénézet]]'', better known as the ''Pont d'Avignon'' and for the French song ''[[Sur le pont d'Avignon]]''. Only four of the twenty one piers are left and the bridge ends mid-channel. On one of the piers stands the small Romanesque chapel of [[Saint Bénézet|Saint-Bénézet]].{{sfn|Vella et al.|2013}}
** The ''Pont Édouard Daladier'' and the ''Pont de Royaume'', which together span both channels of the [[Rhone]] leading to [[Villeneuve-lès-Avignon]], thus replacing the ''Pont Saint-Bénézet''
** The ''Pont de l'Europe'', which provides a second road crossing over the Rhone.
** Two railway bridges over the Rhone, one carrying the conventional [[Paris–Marseille railway|Paris–Marseille line]] and the other the [[LGV Méditerranée|LGV Méditerranée line]]
* [[Calvet Museum]], so named after [[Esprit Calvet]], a physician who in 1810 left his collections to the town. It has a large collection of paintings, metalwork and other objects. The library has over 140,000 volumes.{{sfn|Vingtain|Aujard-Catot|2001|pp=84–87}}
* The town has a Statue of [[Jean Althen]], who migrated from [[Persia]] and in 1765 introduced the culture of the [[Rubia|madder]] plant, which long formed the staple—and is still an important tool—of the local cloth trade in the area.
* [[Musée du Petit Palais, Avignon|Musée du Petit Palais]] (opened 1976) at the end of the square overlooked by the Palais des Papes, has an exceptional collection of Renaissance paintings of the Avignon school as well as from Italy, which reunites many "primitives" from the collection of [[Giampietro Campana]].
* The ''[[Hotel d'Europe]]'', one of the oldest hotels in France, in business since 1799.
* The ''Collection Lambert'', houses contemporary art exhibitions
* The ''Musée Angladon'' exhibits the paintings of a private collector who created the museum
* ''Musée Lapidaire'', with collections of archaeological and medieval sculptures from the [[Fondation Calvet]] in the old chapel of the [[Jesuit]] College.
* ''Musée Louis-Vouland''
* ''[[Musée Requien]]''
* ''Palais du Roure''{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00081942|PA00081942 Palais du Roure}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
* ''Les Halles'' is a large indoor market that offers fresh produce, meats, and fish along with a variety of other goods.
* The ''Place Pie'' is a small square near Place de l'Horloge where you can partake in an afternoon coffee on the outdoor terraces or enjoy a night on the town later in the evening as the square fills with young people.
* Note: the name of [[Pablo Picasso]]'s 1907 painting ''[[Les Demoiselles d'Avignon]]'' (''The Young Ladies of Avignon'') is misleading; Picasso's models for this painting were in fact not women of the city of Avignon, but rather of the Carrer d'Avinyó (Avignon Street) in [[Barcelona]].

The commune houses more than 500 historical objects, many of which are religious.<ref>{{Search Palissy|84007}}</ref>

=== Gallery ===
<gallery mode=packed widths="150px" heights="150px">
File:Avignon, Palais des Papes by JM Rosier.jpg|View of the ''Palais des Papes'' from the square on the western side
File:Abbaye Saint-Ruf d'Avignon 01.JPG|[[Abbey of Saint-Ruf, Avignon|Abbey of Saint-Ruf]]
File:Avignon bridge by Rosier.jpg|The ''[[Pont Saint-Bénézet|Pont d'Avignon]]'' from the song "''[[Sur le Pont d'Avignon]]''"
File:Remparts d'Avignon.jpg|The city walls of Avignon
File:Hotel de la monnaie.JPG|The Hôtel des Monnaies
</gallery>