Palace of the Popes: Interior

The Palace of the Popes in Avignon is a huge and very old structure, and many of the rooms are in bad shape. (Even some of these have a modern audio tour system, describing their previous use.) But decay - and shadows - can be picturesque.

Palace of the Popes in Avignon

Our second day excursion from Arles was to Avignon. This is probably one of the most touristy cities in Provence, and we were somewhat put off by the crowds and occasional poor service. But it attracts visitors for a reason, notably the Palace of the Popes. From Wikipedia: "It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century." Here are some images of the exterior. (The last is a small figure on the wall of an inner courtyard.)

Picasso in Carrieres de Lumieres

A retrospective of Picasso's styles, with sections of some of his most famous paintings, were projected on stone walls several stories high, to suitable recorded music accompaniment. A remarkable experience!

Carrieres de Lumieres in Les Baux-des-Provence

There are many attractive things to see in Les Baux-des-Provence, but the standout attraction, to our taste, was Carrieres de Lumieres. Multi-story images are projected on the stone walls of huge galleries dug into the rock of a former bauxite mine. The wall surface used extends over 4000 m^2 (Wikipedia). The photos below show the scale of the underground galleries, with some mostly traditional paintings projected on the walls. In tomorrow's blog we'll see some Picassos.

Shops of Les Baux-des-Provence

There are only 458 residents in the whole commune of Les Baux-des-Provence, but it gets 1.5 million visitors a year, according to Wikipedia, because it is rated one of the most beautiful villages of France. Of course, all those visitors need places to shop and eat.

Les Baux-des-Provence

With Arles as a base, we took day trips to various interesting places in Provence. The first was Les Baux-des-Provence, a small but very scenic and highly touristed village in the Alpilles Mountains. "Baux" comes from bauxite, which used to be mined there. Some views of the stony scenery:

Arles Doors, Walls, and Windows

I like to take photos of picturesque doors, walls, and windows, of which Arles has an abundance.