The vast rooms and shady arcades of this 14th-century palace offer a glimpse into medieval life when Avignon was the center of the Catholic world. A visit is supported by tablets (available in multiple languages) that digitally restore lost frescoes and furniture. It’s a surprising example of tech that genuinely deepens the experience, bringing rooms to life with audiovisual storytelling and changing art installations.
Rooms That Speak
From the moment you step into the echoing stone corridors of the palace, you’re drawn into a journey that unfolds gradually. Each space reveals something different – a shift in light, a change in scale, a surprising view across the rooftops. Guided by the tablet, the experience brings to life vast halls like the Grand Tinel and more intimate cloisters and private chapels. The Great Chapel represents the largest covered space in the palace. Construction began in 1348 but was slowed by the Black Death pandemic. In the 14th century, the windows were of stained glass with a carpeted floor and walls covered with drapery dominated by green tones.
Fragments of Color & Life
Tapestries and frescoes reigned as decor during the papal period in Avignon. In the Stag Room, delicate frescoes depict a papal hunting scene – a glimpse into the world of the Avignon popes. This was a court with its own rituals: scholars and scribes in heated debate, cardinals processing in crimson robes, feasts unfolding by candlelight in echoing halls. Elsewhere, like in the papal chambers, fragments of wall paintings and digital reconstructions suggest a setting once filled with pattern, fabric, ceremony and scent. Your imagination will have to fill in the rest.
