Visitors who avoid the escorted tours, largely in French, around the Palace of the Popes in Avignon often complain that the palace has almost empty rooms and that little is explained. All that has changed. Celebrating the 700th anniversary of the crowning of the first Pope in Avignon, a new Musée de l'OEuvre provides a detailed account of the history of the palace. It covers the period from its construction to the departure of the popes and the much less well-known but nonetheless interesting developments between the fifteenth century and the present day.
The exhibition takes up six rooms in the palace and combines an interesting variety of artifacts, models, videos and interactive displays.
The palace is open daily from 9.30am to 7pm until mid-September,
and until 9pm during the July drama festival,
which is also used as a backdrop to various productions.
www.palais-des-papes.com
