Avignon, France

Avignon
Commune
From top: Skyline, Rocher des Doms, Palais des Papes, Avignon Cathedral, Festival d'Avignon, Pont Saint-Bénézet
Coat of arms
Avignon
Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region  Avignon
Coordinates: 43°57′N 4°49′E / 43.95°N 4.81°E / 43.95; 4.81Coordinates: 43°57′N 4°49′E / 43.95°N 4.81°E / 43.95; 4.81
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Vaucluse
Arrondissement	Avignon
Canton	Avignon-1, 2 and 3
Intercommunality	Grand Avignon
Government
• Mayor (2014—2020)	Cécile Helle (PS)
Area1	64.78 km2 (25.01 sq mi)
Population (2011)2	90,194
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (GMT +1) (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	84007 /84000
Elevation	10–122 m (33–400 ft) (avg. 23 m or 75 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	France
Area	64.91 km2 (698,700,000 sq ft)
Criteria	i, ii, iv
Reference	228
Coordinates	43°56′55″N 4°48′30″E / 43.9486°N 4.8083°E / 43.9486; 4.8083
Inscription	(Unknown Session)
Website	www.avignon.fr
Location of Avignon
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¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Avignon (French pronunciation: ​[a.vi.ɲɔ̃]; Latin: Avenio; Occitan: Avignoun, Occitan: Avinhon pronounced [aviˈɲun]) is a commune in south-eastern France in the department of Vaucluse on the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 90,194 inhabitants of the city (as of 2011^[update]), about 12,000 live in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval ramparts.

Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France. The town is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts.

The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.