Avignon

Avignon was a Papal possession from 1309 until 1791.

Its position on the Rhone river made the city a trade and toll hub.

Many fortifications were built near Avignon.

The King of France built the Philipe-le-Bel Tower before the Pope moved to Avignon.

The Fort Saint Andre was built by Philip IV to keep an eye on Avignon.

The complex encompasses the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Andre, which was there before the castle.

The French crown acquired the land near the Rhone after the Albigensian Crusade.

Some nice chats.

Avignon is one of the few French cities to still have its Medieval walls, built in 1357 during the Hundred Years' War.

The Hotel Des Monnaies across from the Palais des Papes has an impressive facade.

Construction on the Palais des Papes began in 1252 as the local bishop's castle.

Pope Clement V moved the Papal Curia to Avignon due to French cardinals serving as his base of support and unrest in Rome.

Pope Clement VI officially bought Avignon from Joanna I of Naples and Countess of Provence in 1348. The Count of Provence fell under the sway of the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Holy Roman Empire, the County of Barcelona, County of Toulouse, and the Kingdom of Naples before passing into French hands in 1486.

The Popes returned to Rome in 1377, but antipopes remained at Avignon until 1403.

The Palace remained in antipapal control until 1433, even without a designated antipope.

A dish fit for a Pope.

The chimney in the kitchen.

Avignon Cathedral, next to the Palace, was built in the 12th century.

Nice beard

The Avignon Popes are buried in the Cathedral.

Pope Benedict the XII

The paint has lasted surprisingly well.

A mood

Maintenance on the Pont Saint Benezet stopped in the 17th century because it collapsed whenever the Rhone flooded.

One side of the bridge was controlled by the Pope, the other by the French.

The Rhone, along with the Po and Nile rivers, discharge the most water into the Mediterranean Sea. 

I guess the hydra was the least of Hercules worries.

Waiting for the show

The Basilique Saint Pierre was built in 1358.

In 1791 the French National Assembly voted to annex Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin.

In the subsequent massacre of La Glaciere, a papiste mob lynched a patriot city administrator. In turn sixty papistes were killed.

Napoleon later invaded the Papal States and forced the Pope to recognize French control of Avignon in 1797.

Avignon is lit up at night.

It can surprise you when walking down side streets.

Always watching

The food is excellent in Avignon (of course). When you can't afford Chateauneuf-du-Pape, buy Cotes-du-Rhone Villages!

 

Orange

Orange is a city in Provence founded by veterans of Rome's second legion in 35 B.C.

The Triumphal Arch of Orange was built during the reign of Augustus to honor veterans of the Gallic Wars, and later modified by Tiberius to celebrate Germanicus' victories in the Rhineland. 

Orange later became a Principality of the Holy Roman Empire. The territory passed into the hands of the Counts of Nassau in Germany, who in turn became Stadtholders in the Low Countries. The House of Orange-Nassau still rules the Netherlands today; mercifully, after numerous occupations, France annexed Orange in 1713, though the Dutch retained the title.

The Roman Theater of Orange was built in the 1st century A.D.

The theater fell into disrepair after the Catholic Church issued an edict in 391 closing it.

After being pillaged be the Visigoths in the following century, it was used as a fortification, shelter, and stage for religious plays.

The theater was restored by France in the 1800s, and is still in use today.

 

Lyon

Lyon is France's third largest city and was the capital of Roman Gaul.

Lyon Cathedral has stained glass windows from the 13th century, including the window of good and bad angels. 

The treasury has artifacts from the Byzantine Empire, and Limoges enamel.

Jesus doesn't look too happy in this one.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere overlooks the city.

The basilica is dedicated to the Virgin May, credited for saving Lyon from Prussian occupation during the Franco-Prussian War.

There are great views of Lyon from the basilica.

Including of Lyon Cathedral

The inside of the basilica is spectacular. 

A mosaic of the Battle of Lepanto

The crypt

A short walk away from the basilica are the ruins of Roman Lugdunum.

The city was originally built at the confluence of the Saone and Rhone rivers on a high point to protect Roman refugees during the Roman Republic's war against the Gauls.

A bronze age processional chariot from around 700 B.C. used to worship the sun.

Emperors Claudius and Caracalla were born in Lyon. This plaque of a speech by Claudius advocating for Roman rights for citizens of Gaul was found in Lyon.

Sling ammunition - some projectiles bear abuse directed at the enemy.

You can recognize the Gallic God Sucellus by his mallet, jar, and dog.

This mysterious object has been found all over the Roman Empire.

The Ancient Theatre of Fourviere

Drunk Hercules, a great Greco-Roman motif

This mosaic of the circus shows how laps were counted with fountains.

Wild hogs

Sculptures mounted to the top of Roman cemetery walls to repel evil spirits.

The Odeon of Lyon

Lyon is also home to great food. Make sure you grab a beer at Brasserie Georges!