Cathédrale Notre-Dame-des-Doms et pont Saint-Bénezet

Avignon

Before Avignon became the seat of the papacy in the 14th century with the building of the gigantic Palais des Papes, the city already possessed, on the same Rocher des Doms, this 12th-century Romanesque cathedral and a bridge famous above all others: the Pont Saint-Bénezet, immortalised by the children's song 'Sur le pont d'Avignon'. Originally built with 22 arches — according to legend on the orders of a young shepherd who had received a divine command — only four remain today, the rest carried away over the centuries by the floods of the Rhône; and contrary to the song, people danced not on the bridge, which was too narrow, but in the open-air taverns set up on the island it spanned, beneath its arches. The Palais des Papes, which adjoins the cathedral to the south, has its own entry.

Getting there : Free admission to the cathedral, admission charge for the bridge

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound