8 crucial mistakes to avoid when visiting Avignon

Every city has its traps. The difference with Avignon is that the traps are not tourist scams or overpriced restaurants - they are honest, avoidable mistakes that even well-prepared visitors make because no one told them otherwise.

I have lived inside these walls for years. I watch these mistakes happen daily from my window, from the terrace of my local cafe, and from the ramparts where I walk my dog. Here are the eight I see most often, and the simple fixes for each.

1. Underestimating the summer heat

People who have never spent time in the south of France simply do not understand how fierce the heat can be here. Avignon sits in the Rhone valley, hemmed in by stone walls that radiate heat like an oven. Average highs in July and August hover around 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. During heatwaves - which are now an annual event, not an exception - temperatures regularly breach 40 degrees. In July 2025, the Avignon Festival ran its performances while the city baked at 40 degrees day after day.

This is not “oh, it’s a bit warm” heat. This is “you will get heatstroke if you spend three hours queueing for the Palais des Papes at noon” heat.

The fix: If you are visiting between mid-June and early September, plan your sightseeing for the morning (before 11 AM) and the evening (after 6 PM). Carry water everywhere. Wear a hat. Do what the locals do and disappear indoors between noon and 4 PM - that is what lunch and the Palais des Papes interior (mercifully cool behind those four-metre-thick stone walls) are for.

2. Ignoring the Mistral forecast

The Mistral is not a gentle breeze. It is a violent northerly wind that funnels down the Rhone valley and hits Avignon at sustained speeds of 50 to 60 km/h, with gusts that can top 100 km/h. It blows an average of 120 days per year, mostly between November and April, and the wind chill can make a 12-degree spring day feel like freezing.

First-time visitors are genuinely shocked. I have seen people on the Pont Saint-Benezet struggling to stay upright. Outdoor dining becomes impossible. Your carefully styled hair becomes a memory.

The fix: Check the weather forecast before you plan each day. If the Mistral is blowing, pivot to indoor activities - the museums, the market, the Palais interior. The wind typically blows in bursts of three, six, or nine days (the locals have a saying about this), so if you have flexibility, wait it out. And pack a windproof jacket even in spring - you will need it.

3. Rushing the Palais des Papes

The Palais des Papes is the largest Gothic palace ever built. It is enormous. And yet, every day, I see visitors try to squeeze it into a 45-minute window between lunch and their next bus. The result: a breathless jog through empty halls where seven popes lived and plotted, with no time to absorb any of it.

The palace deserves a minimum of 90 minutes, ideally two hours. The HistoPad (the augmented reality tablet included with your ticket) is genuinely excellent - it overlays the stripped-back rooms with reconstructions of their original painted glory - but it only works if you stop and use it in each room.

The fix: Arrive when the doors open in the morning. You will beat the heat, beat the coach groups, and have the Grand Chapel practically to yourself. Allow two full hours. If you have only half a day in Avignon, spend it here - not rushing between four different sites.

4. Driving inside the walls

I once watched a rental car stuck at an intersection in the old city for a solid ten minutes, the driver trying to reverse out of a one-way street while pedestrians streamed past on both sides. It is a scene that plays out daily.

The streets inside the ramparts were designed for horses, not Peugeots. Many are pedestrian-only, others are one-way with traffic gates that require a resident’s pass card. The lanes are so narrow that wing mirrors become a suggestion rather than a feature. And even if you do make it through, there is almost nowhere to park.

The fix: Park outside the walls. The Parking des Italiens (south side, near Porte Saint-Michel) is the most convenient paid option. If you want free parking, drive to the Ile Piot car park across the river and take the free shuttle into the centre. The entire walled city is walkable in 20 minutes end to end - you do not need a car inside it.

5. Arriving at Les Halles after noon

Les Halles is one of the best covered markets in the south of France, but it operates on farmer’s hours, not tourist hours. The stalls open at 6 AM. By noon, the best produce is gone. By 1:30 PM on weekdays (2 PM on weekends), the shutters come down entirely.

I have lost count of the number of visitors I have seen arrive at 2 PM, stare at the locked doors, and walk away deflated.

One more thing: Les Halles is closed on Mondays. Every Monday. Without exception.

The fix: Go in the morning. Any morning except Monday. If you want the full experience - browsing the stalls, tasting olives and cheese, grabbing a coffee at the bar - arrive by 10 AM. Better yet, turn your visit into lunch: Cuisine Centr’Halles, right inside the market hall, sources its ingredients from the very stalls surrounding it. For more on how to structure your days, see our local’s guide to how long to spend in Avignon.

6. Planning museums on a Tuesday

This is the trap that catches the most well-organised visitors. You have planned a culture day: the Musee Calvet in the morning, the Petit Palais after lunch, maybe the Musee Lapidaire to finish. You arrive at the Calvet. It is closed. You walk to the Petit Palais. Also closed. The Lapidaire? Closed.

In France, the traditional museum closure day is Tuesday, not Monday. Avignon’s municipal museums - the Calvet, the Petit Palais, the Lapidaire, the Maison Jean Vilar - all follow this rule. It catches visitors off guard precisely because it is the opposite of what many expect.

The fix: Never plan a museum day on a Tuesday in Avignon. Use Tuesdays for outdoor activities instead: the Rocher des Doms viewpoint, a walk along Rue des Teinturiers, or a day trip to Pont du Gard or the Luberon. The Palais des Papes is open daily (including Tuesdays), so if you need an indoor option, it has you covered.

7. Wearing the wrong shoes

This sounds trivial. It is not. Avignon’s old town is paved almost entirely with medieval cobblestones - uneven, rounded, and often polished smooth by centuries of foot traffic. When it rains (or when the mistral drives dew across the stone), they become genuinely slippery.

Smart evening shoes with heels might look the part, but they do not work on the streets of Avignon. I have seen more than one elegant dinner outfit undermined by a cobblestone ankle twist on the way to a chic restaurant !

The fix: Wear flat, rubber-soled shoes for daytime sightseeing. If you want to dress up for dinner, carry your shoes and change at the restaurant. Your ankles will thank you.

8. Not crossing the river

This is the biggest missed opportunity of all. The overwhelming majority of visitors never leave the walled city. They see Avignon from the inside, tick the boxes, and drive to their next destination.

What they miss: the single best view of Avignon is not from Avignon. It is from the Ile de la Barthelasse and from the opposite bank in Villeneuve-les-Avignon. From there, you see the full sweep of the ramparts, the Palais des Papes towering above, the broken bridge reaching across the Rhone, and the golden Virgin on top of Notre-Dame-des-Doms catching the last light. At sunset, it is one of the most beautiful urban views in France.

The fix: Cross the Pont Edouard Daladier (the modern road bridge, free, five minutes on foot) and turn right along the riverbank path. Walk until the entire city unfolds in front of you. Bring a bottle of CôtesduRhone and a picnic. This is the Avignon moment that no selfie in front of the Palais can match.

The bottom line

#	Mistake	The fix
1	Underestimating the heat	Sightsee before 11 AM and after 6 PM. Carry water. Hide indoors at midday.
2	Ignoring the Mistral	Check the forecast daily. Pack a windproof layer, even in spring.
3	Rushing the Palais des Papes	Arrive at opening. Allow two hours minimum. Use the HistoPad.
4	Driving inside the walls	Park at Les Italiens or Ile Piot. Walk everything.
5	Arriving at Les Halles late	Go before noon, any day except Monday.
6	Planning museums on Tuesday	Tuesday is closure day. Use it for outdoor activities or the Palais.
7	Wearing the wrong shoes	Flat rubber soles for cobblestones. Save heels for the restaurant.
8	Not crossing the river	Walk across the Daladier bridge at sunset. Thank me later.

These are not obscure insider secrets. They are the basics that every local knows but that somehow never make it into the guidebooks. Get them right and you will spend your time in Avignon actually enjoying the city - not fighting it.

Want to plan your days properly? Read our day-by-day guide to how long to spend in Avignon for a complete itinerary.