Avignon's Film, Music, Art, and a whole lot more, Festival!
Avignon is only a twenty minute drive removed from Uzes, and there are two things you can do there between the 4th and 21st day of July. You can attend the Avignon festival, or you can see the regular tourist sights. There is no way to do both.
That’s because for two and a half weeks in July, the Avignon Festival turns what is already a pretty hectic place into something that will leave you craving the comfort of sedation, physical restraints, or some time spent in a sensory-deprivation tank.
But it’s so much fun!
If you know where to go…and especially when to go…Avignon can be a fun place to visit. Finding a place to park is usually a pain, and weekends should be avoided at all costs. But the beauty of the place!
Coming from Uzes, you will probably first see the city when you cross the pont d’Europe, the beautiful bridge that spans the Rhone river. From there, you’re treated to an impressive sight. Avignon’s city walls are tall and strong, and often gleam in the strong sunlight. Below, the green river flows serenely along, and then past the city. And the pinnacle of the Pope’s Palace is capped with a striking gold statue that can be seen glinting from afar.
There is so much to see and do in Avignon. The Fine Arts museum, from where this photo was taken, has an excellent collection. And it’s free; a rarity in tourist towns.
The Pope’s Palace (in the immediate background) is undeniably impressive—though, from what we’ve heard and read, not as impressive on the inside. There’s a broad walkway, hidden by the greenery to the left of the photo, that leads to a peaceful little park set at the top of the city. There you can enjoy a relaxing drink beside a babbling fountain as you enjoy views that reach to the Mont Ventoux and the pre-Alps beyond.
And if you look down at the river from the northern boundary of the park, you will spot the water taxi that ferries people to the island that lies in the middle of the Rhone. It’s free, offers one of the best views of Avignon, and is great fun for the kids.
But that peace and serenity changes when the Avignon Festival takes place. The city is then packed with visitors. Streets are full. There’s motion and commotion, hustle and bustle…and it’s all so much fun!
The Avignon Festival represents an exhilarating plunge into the arts. It seems as if there are hundreds of plays you can attend (some in English), and there are free exhibitions, people performing on the streets, poetry recitals, opera and dance productions, films to see…and all around you, music.
Every spare inch of free space appears to be taken up with posters extolling theatre productions, film screenings, recitals, performances or exhibitions of one type or other.
You can take in a show, or do as we did, and just stroll around and take in the atmosphere. There are street performers everywhere you look. During festival time you can spend a wonderful time in Avignon, and not spend a dime.
And from what we’ve heard, things really get going at night.
We especially like to give the posters a good look, because they are often extremely creative…and funny. As with this example. Who can resist wanting to see “The Mother in Law” after seeing this announcement hanging on a wall or attached to a tree?
Or the “Happy Depressive?” (a comedy, no less). Note the hangman’s noose at the top, in which a Y dangles, and the creative use of the letter “I” in the title.
When the festival is all done with, Avignon returns to its—not exactly quiet, but certainly a whole lot less manic—nature. Tourists walk along the Pont Benezet (which the well-known children’s song, ‘Sur le pont d’Avignon; On the Bridge at Avignon’ is based on). Some even do a little dance at its end.
Streetside restaurants invite lingering again. And the Rhone, as it has since time immemorial, works its way resolutely toward the Mediterranean sea..
From the Book:
Chapter 45:
The Beauty on the River
The answer was obvious. Avignon, the city on the Rhone: interesting, beautiful, striking and historic. And we’d hated it with a passion the first time we’d come to visit.
Our mistake then, had been to visit the city during the height of the summer vacation period, and Avignon had been packed to the gunwales with tourists when we arrived. Even finding a parking space had been a nerve-racking affair.
Then we joined a horde (herd?) of tourists, wearily slogging uphill under a baking sun. People jostled for space, bumped into each other, turned away without apologizing, and then bumped into someone else. Babies wailed and children cried. And vice-versa. Mothers and fathers wiped the perspiration from their brows, and a van with loudspeakers bolted to its roof blared—at deafening volume—the details of a mattress sale taking place in the suburbs.
We should have right then and there, but foolishly did not. Instead we struggled forward, keeping a close eye on each other so we wouldn’t become separated, and with much effort, reached the square at the upper part of the city where the Pope’s Palace stood. It was big and expressive…but we’d seen big and impressive buildings before.
The square was full of people. It was noisy. It was hot. No breeze blew.
“Have we seen enough?” I had asked.
We had, and quickly fled back to the peace and quiet of Uzes.
It took three years before we gave Avignon another change. But this time we took precautions. We chose a weekday, hoping it would keep the crowds to a minimum, and were proven correct. Rather than madness and ice cream cone-splattered sidewalks, the papal city offered us quiet, cobbled side streets and tree-shaded squares. The main square was beautiful when not packed with people, and we even stumbled upon a free ferry that took us to an island in the middle of the Rhone river, from where we enjoyed what is undoubtedly the best view of the city.
From then on, we no longer feared Avignon.
