The popes' walled city on the Rhône
For most of the 14th century Avignon was the seat of the papacy, and the Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in the world, still dominates its walled centre. The Pont Saint-Bénézet, the bridge of the nursery song, stops abruptly halfway across the Rhône. Each July the Festival d'Avignon fills the city with theatre. It is a good base for exploring Provence, with Châteauneuf-du-Pape's vineyards, the Pont du Gard and the Roman theatre at Orange all nearby.