A Sunday in Provence: L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Avignon, & Pont du Gard

A guide to an ambitious Sunday in Provence: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue antique market, medieval city of Avignon, & 1^st Century Pont du Gard!

Sunday in Provence Pin Avignon L'Isle sur la sorgue and Pont du gard

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Road trip Travel Logistics

The best way to get around this region is by car! Our itinerary begins in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue before continuing onto Avignon, and finally Pont du Gard. This would not be possible in 1 day without a car. However, if you only want to visit the historic city of Avignon, that is entirely possible to do by taking a train from Paris straight to Avignon in only a few hours! I highly recommend renting a car from Avignon train station to explore outside the city.

L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Antique Market

This market is one of the biggest and most popular antique markets in France! I really wished I could ship some pieces home, but I promised myself that one day I would plan better for antique shopping. It was still fun to wander around, admiring all of the beautiful treasures. And maybe it was even more special since I knew I couldn’t bring anything home with me.

Beautiful water fountain in the middle of a market

brocante furniture — I would have taken this whole set home if I could *Sad face*

beautiful brocante furniture — I would have taken this whole set home if I could *Sad face*

Historic City of Avignon

What a truly remarkable city Avignon is. It is full of rich history, beautiful architecture, and it really is a sight to be seen.

Largest Medieval Gothic Palace in the World

Palais des Papes in Avignon — This square in front of the Palais des Papes was where a massive massacre of counter-revolutionaries happened during the French Revolution in 1791, when revolutionary forces seized and sacked Avignon.

Did you know that the Pope lived here for some time? It was the capital of the Papacy from 1309 to 1377 and later recognized for its architectural beauty and historic importance by being designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 90’s. Built on the foundations of an old Episcopal bishop palace, Pope Benedict XII in 1334 expanded the original buildings over 20 years into the palace it is today. Why did the Pope leave Rome? They fled Rome because of the corruption and political unrest in Rome in the 14^th century. The palace that was built, Le Palais des Papes (palace of Popes), is one of the world’s largest Gothic edifices! It was the place to be for musicians, composers, thinkers and philosophers.

Palais des Papes in Avignon France — Palais des Papes

But as you might have guessed, this capital of the Papacy was not permanent and it was always intended to return back to Italy.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit inside, but there are tours you can book and I would recommend doing so if you are in Avignon for the day! We plan on touring it one day when we come back!

raspberry tart in Avignon — Enjoying a raspberry tart in front of the Palais des Papes

Famous Medieval Bridge in Avignon

Pont d’Avignon, a beautiful medieval bridge built between 1177 and 1185, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site you must visit while you’re here.

medieval architecture in Avignon — On our way to the spectacular bridge

Medieval bridge in Avignon — A tax was charged to cross this bridge with your livestock back in the day…some things never change

Pont Saint-Benezet chapel on the Avignon bridge — A chapel built into the bridge for a quick prayer on the road!

Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as the Pont d'Avignon, was a medieval bridge across the Rhône in the town of Avignon, in southern France — The Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as the Pont d’Avignon, was a medieval bridge across the Rhône in the town of Avignon, in southern France.

Pont Saint-Bénézet in Avignon — But it stops in the middle of the river! The bridge went through a mini Ice Age in the 1500s, which changed the Rhône and shifted the floodplain…meaning the bridge would keep deteriorating over time. You can see in this photo that the piers have cutwaters that are pointed both upstream and downstream. These reduce the scour around the piers (helps to not eat away the stone bridge). These piers were constructed with openings in the stone work to reduce the pressure from the flow of water when the river was flooding.

1^st Century Roman Site

Since we were only about an hour away to Pont du Gard from Avignon, we pushed ourselves to make it here in the afternoon!

Pont du Gard in france — A gladiator in the water

Pont du Gard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is one of the best preserved Roman sites in the world. Today, it remains the only example of a three-story antique bridge still standing! One THOUSAND men labored for 5 years to construct this 50,000 ton bridge, originally stretching 360 meters. The bridge formed part of the Roman aqueduct that carried water from Uzès to Nîmes (see map below) and 50km of pipes crossed the heath or traveled underground. The aqueduct had to be built to cross the river here.

Roman engineering of Pont du gard — This was built in the first century!

an engineering feat in the roman era — Archaeologists uncovered evidence of how well organized this project was. They found numbering on the stones, points of support for scaffolding, and evidence of the use of hoists!

This aqueduct was in use until the 11^th century, then became a toll road in the Middle Ages. It actually served as a road bridge from the 18^th to 20^th century. Only in year 2000 did it stop allowing traffic entirely, due to a major site initiative to return the monument to its original condition!