Avignon
The Palace of the Popes, the episcopal ensemble and the Pont d'Avignon. UNESCO listing (opens the UNESCO site) ↗︎
History
The story of France
Around 600 BC Greek sailors from Phocaea founded Massalia, today's Marseille, the oldest city in France. Rome made the coast its first province beyond the Alps, the Provincia that gave Provence its name, and left the arena at Arles, the Maison Carrée at Nîmes and the Pont du Gard.
From 1309 to 1377 the Popes lived in Avignon and built the vast Palace of the Popes. Provence joined the French crown in the fifteenth century; Nice became French in 1860. In the nineteenth century, winter visitors from across Europe made the Riviera the world's first great resort coast, and then came the painters.
A short timeline
- Massaliac. 600 BC
Greek settlers found Marseille.
- The Provincia2nd century BC onwards
Roman Arles, Nîmes, Orange and the Pont du Gard.
- The Popes in Avignon1309 to 1377
The Palace of the Popes.
- Provence joins France15th century
The county passes to the French crown.
- The Riviera19th and 20th centuries
Nice becomes French in 1860; the Belle Époque, then the painters.
