By Niel Muller.
04/09/2022
On the morning before leaving Avignon, we again visited the enormous Palace of the Popes, the largest Gothic building of the Middle Ages. It is from this palace that 6 Popes reigned from 1309 to 1377 and today, the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding architecture and historical importance to the Papacy. The building is not in use (the Papacy of course returned to Rome) and only partly restored, including most recently, the gardens. Considering all the steps that we encountered, the Papal staff must have been very fit!
The Basilique Metropolitaine next to the Palace is much more modest.
Le Pont du Gard, over the Gardon river, is part of an aqueduct built more than 2000 years ago in order to supply water from Uzès to Nimes – a distance of 50 km – for 5 centuries. The 3-arched structure is 14m wide at its base, 42m high and 275m long at the top and a marvel of Roman architecture and engineering.
Our accommodation in Nimes is an upgrade of what we have had before and after a rest for the driver in an airconditioned room, we strolled into the clean, well kept Centre Ville and enjoyed a good meal in the Le De-K-Le Bistro.
