Avignon Food

Avignon has a few foods closely associated with the city, but much of what you will see on menus belongs to Provence more broadly. Treat the names below as things to recognize, order, or buy while you are here rather than as a list of dishes unique to Avignon. For the wider national and regional picture, see our France Food page.

Papeton d’Avignon is an eggplant-based dish traditionally set with egg and served with tomato coulis. It has a particularly strong association with Avignon, although whether it appears on a restaurant menu depends on the kitchen and season.

Daube avignonnaise is a more clearly defined local variation on Provençal daube. The Avignon version uses lamb or mutton and white wine rather than the beef-and-red-wine combination common in other versions of the stew.

You may also come across dishes such as crespéou and aïoli while eating in Avignon. These belong to the wider Provençal food tradition rather than to Avignon alone, so they are most useful here as menu-recognition terms.

Tapenade and anchoïade are also Provençal rather than uniquely Avignon foods. Tapenade is based on olives and capers and often includes anchovies; anchoïade combines anchovies, garlic, and olive oil and is commonly eaten with bread or raw vegetables. Check the ingredients rather than assuming either spread is vegetarian.

For an apartment meal or picnic, the markets make it easy to combine bread, cheese, charcuterie, olives, fruit, and vegetables instead of planning another restaurant meal. Buy according to what looks best that morning rather than working from a fixed Provence shopping list.

Fougasse is a Provençal bread rather than an Avignon specialty. Savory versions may include olives or other additions and work well with cheese, charcuterie, or market produce.

The papaline d’Avignon is much more city-specific: a pink chocolate confection with an Origan du Comtat liqueur center. It contains alcohol and is sold by confectioners and pastry shops in Avignon.

Most of Avignon’s useful food areas are inside the ramparts, but they work differently. Place Pie is the market-first choice, the Carmes side suits slower lunches and neighborhood restaurants, Rue Joseph Vernet has several of the city’s stronger dinner destinations, and the streets around the Palais des Papes put formal dining close to the main sights.

Start around Place Pie when food shopping matters as much as restaurants. Les Halles is the main reason to come here in the morning, whether you want cheese, charcuterie, vegetables, fruit, bread, condiments, or something ready to eat.

This is the easiest part of the old town for an apartment stay built around market shopping. It also works well when you want a light market lunch instead of another sit-down restaurant meal.

The eastern and southern side of the old town gives you a broader mix of restaurant styles. Au Jardin des Carmes sits directly on Place des Carmes, Numéro 75 is farther along Rue Guillaume Puy, and L’Agape anchors Place des Corps-Saints.

Come to this side of the center when you want to combine a neighborhood walk with lunch or dinner rather than staying around the Palais des Papes for every meal.

Rue Joseph Vernet has several very different dinner choices within a short stretch, including Pollen and Bibendum. Continue toward Place Crillon for La Vieille Fontaine at the Hôtel d’Europe.

This side of the old town works particularly well for a planned evening meal because you can choose between a brasserie, chef-led tasting menus, and a more formal hotel restaurant without leaving the historic center.

The streets between the Palais des Papes, Rue de la République, and the central pedestrian lanes contain several of Avignon’s more ambitious restaurants, including La Mirande, Sevin, Hiély-Lucullus, Le Goût du Jour, Première Édition, and LE JOAT.

Stay in this part of the center if dinner reservations are a major part of the trip and you want to walk back easily after a longer meal.

Avignon’s old town has several useful food shops beyond Les Halles. The strongest reasons to stop are cheese and charcuterie for an apartment or picnic, truffle products, Provençal pantry goods, and a smaller selection of locally produced honey and almonds.

• Address: 44 Rue des Fourbisseurs, 84000 Avignon

Laiterie Gilbert carries more than 100 cheeses from the region and elsewhere in France, along with charcuterie, dairy products, wine, beer, and other grocery items. Cheese and charcuterie platters can also be ordered.

This is the most practical shop for building a cheese board, picnic, or simple apartment dinner.

• Address: 15 Place du Change, 84000 Avignon

Signorini Tartufi is a specialist truffle shop rather than a general Provençal grocery. Its range centers on truffles and truffle-based pantry products.

Stop here when truffle condiments or a shelf-stable food gift is the point; Les Halles is a better choice for everyday picnic ingredients.

• Address: 34 Rue de la Grande Fusterie, 84000 Avignon

Maison Brémond 1830 is a Provençal épicerie fine selling olive oils, vinegars, condiments, spices, truffle products, sweets, and other pantry goods.

It makes more sense for edible souvenirs and apartment pantry ingredients than for a ready-to-eat lunch.

• Address: 5 Rue du Petit Change, 84000 Avignon

Terraroma sells products made through its family business in Provence. Its current edible range is centered on lavender honey and Provençal almonds; much of the rest of the shop is devoted to lavender, essential oils, and natural cosmetics.

For food, come specifically for the lavender honey or Provençal almonds.

Markets are one of the easiest ways to make food part of an Avignon stay without booking every meal. Les Halles is the dependable covered-market choice, while the Saturday center-city market and the seasonal producer market add open-air shopping on particular days. Check the official Avignon markets page before relying on an open-air market during your stay.

• Address: Place Pie, 84000 Avignon

Les Halles is Avignon’s main covered food market and opens Tuesday through Sunday mornings. Around forty traders sell fresh produce and foods including meat, fish, cheese, charcuterie, bread, olives, condiments, wine, and prepared dishes.

Go here first if you are staying in an apartment, want to build a picnic, or simply want one place where you can compare several kinds of local food without crossing the old town.

• Location: Historic center, beginning around Place des Carmes

The Saturday center-city market runs from 8:00 to 13:00. Its current route extends through the old center from Place des Carmes toward Place Saint-Jean-le-Vieux and the edge of Place Pie, with fruit, vegetables, food products, crafts, merchants, and local producers.

This is better than Les Halles when you want an open-air market walk as part of the morning rather than a concentrated indoor shopping stop.

• Location: Allées de l’Oulle, 84000 Avignon

The producer market on Allées de l’Oulle runs on Monday evenings during its seasonal period, with the current city schedule starting the market at 17:00. It focuses on local and seasonal products sold in a producer-market setting.

Because this market is seasonal, check the city calendar for the dates that apply to your trip rather than assuming it will be running every Monday of the year.

A guided food walk makes the most sense if you have limited time and want someone else to organize several tastings around the historic center. It is less necessary during a longer stay, when Les Halles, the food shops, and the restaurant areas are easy to explore independently.

Current food tours include walking routes through central Avignon with several tasting stops and a mix of Provençal or Avignon food. Check the current Avignon Tourisme listing before booking because tour schedules, tasting stops, prices, and availability can change.

We recommend staying inside the walls or near a gate if food is a priority. Avignon’s main markets, food shops, and restaurants are close enough together that you can shop in the morning and walk to dinner without planning transport.

An apartment near Place Pie is especially convenient if you want to shop at Les Halles and cook at home. For restaurant-heavy evenings, the area between Place de l’Horloge, Rue Joseph Vernet, and the central pedestrian streets gives you a broader choice of dinner spots within a short walk.

Use the interactive map below to compare hotels and apartments inside the walls, especially around Place Pie, Place de l’Horloge, Rue Joseph Vernet, and the streets between them.