Avignon

Avignon is in southeastern France on the Rhône River, in the Provence area. The city’s historic core is compact and walled, while the modern city spreads beyond the walls—useful for lodging tradeoffs (quiet/space) versus walkability (intra-muros).

Avignon’s calendar is shaped by two big factors: summer heat and July crowds. If your priority is long walking days inside the walls, you’ll usually get the best comfort in spring and early fall. If you visit in July, plan around festival intensity and book earlier.

Expect hot afternoons in summer and milder conditions outside peak season. Wind can also affect comfort on exposed walks near the river and along the walls.

Shoulder season is usually the easiest time to combine architecture walking routes with food stops without planning your day around heat. If you’re considering July, the Festival d’Avignon runs most of the month.

For better lodging availability and fewer crowds, look outside the peak summer window. The tradeoff is shorter evenings and a higher chance of cool or windy nights, especially if you’re staying outside the densest part of the old town.

The key lodging decision in Avignon is inside the walls (intra-muros) vs just outside.

Stay inside the walls (intra-muros) if:

• You want to walk to the Palais des Papes area, main squares, and the market without planning transit
• You prefer a “step outside and start sightseeing” day structure

Stay just outside the walls if:

• You want easier parking and simpler arrivals/departures
• You prefer quieter nights, more space, or a slightly easier logistics setup

A practical compromise is to stay near a gate so you can move in and out of the walls quickly while keeping the old town walkable.

Use the interactive map below to explore accommodations by date, budget, and amenities.

Avignon–Provence Airport (AVN) serves the city and the surrounding area. (If you’re comparing options, many visitors also use larger regional airports and connect onward by rail, depending on schedules.)

Avignon has two main stations:

• Avignon Centre (closer to the historic core)
• Avignon TGV (high-speed station), with frequent connections between the two by train; the trip itself is short.

Avignon uses Central European Time (CET) and switches to Central European Summer Time (CEST) for daylight saving time.

France uses the euro (€). Credit and debit cards are widely accepted, but cash is useful for small purchases, cafés, and local markets.

French

France is in the Schengen Area. Many visitors (including U.S. passport holders) can enter for up to 90 days in any 180-day period for tourism or business. For more details, check out our article on traveling visa-free.

For border procedures, the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) applies to U.S. travelers as of October 12, 2025, and ETIAS is scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2026.

France uses Type E sockets and standard power is 230V / 50Hz. U.S. visitors should bring a plug adapter and check if their devices are dual-voltage.

We recommend a travel power strip with multiple USBs and standard plug-ins if you have many items to plug in. Using a power strip, you will only need one adapter to plug the strip into the wall.

For mobile data, travelers can use a local SIM or eSIM. We recommend Airalo eSIMs for convenience—they activate automatically on arrival and are ideal for short-term stays with modest data needs (under 5GB).

You don’t need a car for day-to-day sightseeing in Avignon’s historic center. A car becomes useful for rural day trips and wine villages, but you’ll want a parking plan—street patterns inside the walls are tight and not designed for casual driving.

In addition to the major car rental companies found in the United States, Sixt and Europcar are common throughout Europe. For a comparison of rental car offers from large international brands and smaller regional brands, we recommend Discover Cars.