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We loved Avignon. After our tour of the Palace of the Popes, we took a couple of walking tours ending at the bridge to nowhere, St. Benezet Bridge.
The Church of St. Pierre, built in the Gothic style, was built in 1358. The original walnut doors were carved in 1551 and they were amazing.The inside of St. Pierre is beautiful especially given its age. It didn’t have many stained glass windows, but the ones it did have were beautifully designed and very richly colored.Amazingly, high on the top of the church’s front is a tiny statue of the pagan god Bacchus with oodles of grapes. No one seems to know why he’s there.The church is on St. Pierre’s Square and it’s one of those typical, adorable French squares we all love. We went through this darling tunnel which used to be an alley until they decided to cover it..And then we came to another square called Place des Chataignes. Don’t you just want to sit down with a good book and a glass of wine and while away the afternoon?You can tell this is a 15th century building by its original beamed eaves. Notice how the building widens as it gets higher. In medieval times, taxes were based on ground-floor footage, Everything above was tax free.This fabulous green hydroponic wall adorns the front of the town’s market. We loved this pedestrian street with it’s canals that were built off of a branch of the Sorgue River.This old waterwheel was in the canal. It is one of 23 such waterwheels in the 1800’s that powered the town’s industries.The huge, beautiful city hall had its own square right in front. And behind it is a charming clock tower In the big square in front of city hall stood this beautiful old 2-tiered merry-go-round.Nearby the merry-go-round we came across this really clever sculpture. Chuck said “Oh, let me sit next to him and you can take my picture.”But when Chuck put his hand on the statue’s knee, he realized the knee wasn’t a statue and then the man smiled, leaned forward and shook Chuck’s hand. We were both stunned, and in hysterics – it was the best mime we’ve ever seen.We walked out to the end of the St. Benezet Bridge. Built in the 1100’s, it was only one of 3 bridges that crossed the Rhone River in the middle ages. In 1668 it was knocked out by a disastrous icy flood and they decided not to rebuld it. For a century, Avignon had no bridge across the river. From this photo you can see the little chapel that was built on the bridge.This is looking back at the end from the chapel. It even has a drawbridge to protect it from unwanted visitors. While only 4 arches survive today, the original bridge was 22 arches and 3,000 feet long. And because it extended from Vatican territory over to French territory, they both had a toll both on their end.The St. Benezet Bridge is the Pont d’Avignon made famous by the 15th century children’s song, “Sur le Pont d’Avignon.” (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Provence Journey 
It is so beautiful there, I love it! Love the mime, thought it was a statue too. Hope you are having a grand time!
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Loved the mime moment! LOL!
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There is a very famous children’s song called Sur Le Pont d’Avignon about this bridge. You can hear it on U-Tube. Several different versions.
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