Palais des Papes: timing your visit and what to see inside

The Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) is the largest Gothic palace in Europe. Built between 1335 and 1352, it housed seven popes who chose Avignon over Rome for almost a century. It is a UNESCO site, the most-visited monument in southern France (650,000 visitors per year), and the must-do of any first Avignon trip.

We give every one of our guests the same set of pointers. Here they are.

When to visit (avoid the crowds)

Best time slot: 9 am, the moment doors open.

By 11 am, the Palace is already packed with tour groups. By midday, you queue 30-45 minutes outside. By 3 pm, in summer, the inner courtyards are sun-baked at 35°C and the visit becomes a sweat marathon.

If you start at 9 am sharp:

• No queue
• Cool rooms (the stone walls keep heat out until late morning)
• Free flowing through the spaces (no one in your photos)
• You’re out by 11 am with the energy to grab lunch and head to the Bridge

Avoid completely: 11 am – 4 pm in July-August. Saturated.

Best months: April-May or September-October. Same Palace, half the visitors.

Buy your ticket online

Avoid the on-site queue. Tickets at palais-des-papes.com : €12 adult, €10 reduced, free under 8. The combined Palace + Bridge ticket is €16, recommended if you’re doing both the same day.

Print the QR code or have it on your phone. You’ll scan it at the entrance and skip the cash desk queue.

The HistoPad: take it

At the entrance, you’ll be offered a tablet called the HistoPad (included in the ticket, no extra fee, multilingual). Take it.

The HistoPad is a tactile guide that superimposes 3D reconstructions on the rooms you’re walking through. Empty room with bare walls? Hold up the tablet and you see the frescos, the carpets, the furniture as they were in 1340. Cardinals walk across the screen. Banquet tables appear in the Grand Tinel.

Without the HistoPad, the visit is a series of stone rooms — beautiful but austere. With it, the Palace comes alive.

Particularly impressive in:

• Saint-Martial Chapel (medieval frescos restored on the tablet)
• Grand Tinel (banquet hall reconstructed with 200 guests)
• Stag Room (the pope’s private apartment with hunting scenes)
• Pope’s Treasury (vaults of coins and reliquaries)

What to see (priority order)

The Palace has 25 rooms. If you have 2 hours, focus on the must-see 8:

1. The Great Courtyard (Cour d’Honneur) — the open-air space where the famous theatre festival’s main stage stands every July
2. The Pope’s Chapel (Chapelle Grande) — vaulted ceiling, 16m high
3. The Grand Tinel (banquet hall) — 48m long, the longest medieval dining hall in France
4. The Saint-Martial Chapel — frescos by Matteo Giovannetti (Italian master)
5. The Stag Room (Chambre du Cerf) — pope’s bedroom, hunting frescos
6. The Library (Studium) — pope’s writing study
7. The Pope’s Treasury (vaults) — silver chests and reliquaries
8. The Great Chapel and Grand Audience Hall — the most monumental space, with the famous Last Judgment frescos

What to skip if rushed

• The Council Chamber (Salle de Conseil) is interesting but secondary
• The Servants’ quarters — atmospheric but small and quickly seen
• The basement vaults without HistoPad activation are just empty cellars

Practical info

Address: Place du Palais, 84000 Avignon (centre, 16 min walk from our apartments) Open: 9 am – 7 pm daily in summer, 9 am – 6 pm rest of year, 9 am – 8 pm in July (festival) Closing days: never (open 365 days) Cloakroom: free, on the right after the entrance Toilets: 2 on the route, signposted Café: small kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur, drinks only

Combining with the Saint-Bénézet Bridge

The combined ticket includes the famous Pont d’Avignon (Saint-Bénézet Bridge) — 8 minutes’ walk down from the Palace via the Rocher des Doms garden.

After the Palace (90 min – 2 hours), walk down through the Rocher des Doms (free park with sweeping Rhône views), descend the staircase, and you’re at the Bridge entrance. Audio guide free, 45-minute visit.

Both monuments are done in half a day, leaving the afternoon for Avignon’s pedestrian centre or a lunch on Place de l’Horloge.

Photo spots

For the iconic exterior shot of the Palace façade with the towers, stand on Place du Palais, look up. Wide-angle lens needed (24mm) for the full façade.

For a different angle: walk down rue de la République, look back over your shoulder. The towers stand out against the sky.

Sunset (8 pm – 9 pm in summer): the western façade glows golden-orange. From Rocher des Doms, you see the Palace bathed in light with the Rhône below — easily one of the most photogenic moments of any Avignon trip.

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Total time investment for the Palais: half a day (morning), starting 9 am, finishing 12:30 pm with the Bridge.

This is the heart of Avignon. After it, you’ve earned a leisurely lunch and the rest of the city ahead.

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