One of the main attractions of Avignon is the Papal Palace, home of the Catholic church’s papacy from 1305 to 1376 (or longer, if you want to include the anti-popes). The palace is more of a castle, constructed to protect the occupants who usually also served as secular rulers.
Viking had a walking tour of Avignon that included a visit to the Palace. From these pictures, the palace might seem a bit monochromatic, especially since photography isn’t allowed in the more colorful rooms – a chapel and the pope’s bedroom.
This is the entrance to the palace:
Visible from afar and from many angles within the palace is this golden figure of Mary, high atop the Avignon Cathedral next door:
Inside the main courtyard of the palace:
The “Great Tinel” banquet hall of the Palace is immense. Pictured below are the hall’s ceiling, the fireplace at the head of the hall near where the pope would sit during meals, and the chimney/ceiling above the nearby kitchen, which towers high overhead. The hall was also used during papal elections.
A small city museum is housed in the palace; here are just a few examples of what was on display:
Original wooden figures from tower above Hotel de Ville 
Sculptures of 7 popes and 2 anti-popes of Avignon 
Next, off to another Roman site after lunch: the Pont du Gard aqueduct!
