Avignon in One, Two or Three Days: A Plan by Morning and Afternoon
Most visitors give the city itself a day or two, then add an Avignon day tour to the villages or the wine country. This plan takes you through one, two or three days, morning by morning, with where each day starts and what it costs. Every step is on foot or in a seat you book; you do not need a car.
How many days does Avignon need?
One full day covers the palace, the bridge and the old town. A second lets you add a half day out, to the Luberon villages or the wine country. A third gives you a full day out as well, and time to sit in a square without watching the clock.
If you only have one, start early and stay inside the walls. The distances are short: Avignon Centre station is two minutes from the walls and about 15 minutes on foot from the palace.
What does one day inside the walls look like?
Be at the Palais des Papes when it opens and give it about two hours. Walk down to the Pont Saint-Bénézet on the combined ticket, €19.50 for both, which also lets you save the bridge for the next morning. Lunch at Les Halles before it closes at 2 pm, or on a food walk.
In the afternoon, walk rue des Teinturiers and a stretch of the ramparts. Climb to the garden above the river late in the day, when the heat has gone and the light is low.
Should you see the palace first thing?
Yes, for two reasons. The palace is neither air-conditioned nor heated, and in July Avignon averages 31.5 °C by day, so the cool of the morning helps. And your later hours stay free for the streets, where you set the pace.
From 1 March to 1 November it opens at 9 am; in winter at 10 am. Last admission is an hour before closing. Booking online is recommended, and the Histopad tablet is free at the door.
How do you fit a guided walk into the first day?
Pick the walk by what you want explained. The history walk from Place Crillon takes ninety minutes to two hours for $29, and shows you the palace from outside. The walk with the palace ticket takes three and a half hours and puts your entry in its $80 fare, so do not buy a ticket as well.
The Avignon walking tours all stay inside the walls, and each names its meeting point. Our map of the meeting points shows them.
What does day two add?
A half day out. The Luberon half day leaves the tourist office at 9 am and gives you a spring below a cliff, Gordes, a short abbey stop and an hour in Roussillon, back after five hours, for $92. The Van Gogh half day spends two hours in Arles and an hour at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, for $114.
Your afternoon is then free for the sights you missed on day one, or for the market in the morning before you leave.
Which trips leave after lunch?
The wine afternoons. The afternoon Châteauneuf-du-Pape tour leaves the tourist office at 2 pm and is back around 6 pm, for $126. The Rhône cru tour leaves the same kerb at 2:30 pm for five hours, for $104.
Both suit a day that starts in the palace. You can even pair the Luberon morning with the Rhône cru afternoon, though the gap between them is short.
What does day three add?
A full day out, and a choice of two kinds. The full wine day leaves rue de Mons at 9:30 am for seven hours in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, for $203. The highlights day leaves the tourist office at 9 am for seven stops in nine and a half hours, for $150.
In the lavender weeks, the lavender day from Hôtel Le Bristol adds fields at Velleron and Oppède and a farm picnic. Children under 18 cannot join it.
What if you would rather ride than sit in a minivan?
Take the e-bike day on day three. A minivan takes you from the tourist office to Bonnieux, then you ride electric bikes for two hours, spend an hour and a quarter in Lacoste with its castle and two hours in Ménerbes, for $184. The bike and helmet are in the fare, and riders must be 12 or older.
Closer to town, the Île de la Barthelasse makes a flat half-day ride between the two arms of the river. A free shuttle boat crosses from Quai de la Ligne, and Vélopop rents 300 electric bikes from 29 stations. The page on outdoor activities maps the routes.
Where do the evenings go?
Into the squares. Place de l'Horloge, with its town hall and its carousel, sits in the middle of the old town, and most walks pass through it. The Taste food walk also runs in the evening, ending on Place des Corps Saints, and the Essentials walk serves dinner when it starts late.
For the last light, climb back to the garden above the river and look down on the bridge. In July the evenings belong to the festival, and the shows run late.
Wine day or villages day?
If you drink wine and can only choose one, choose the wine. The villages are the better pick for families and for anyone under 16. Our post on the wine day or the villages day sets them side by side, stop by stop.
Where should each day start?
Know your kerb the night before. Most minivan days leave the tourist office at 41 cours Jean Jaurès, at the station end of the old town. Others meet at the central post office on cours Président Kennedy, outside Hôtel Le Bristol, or in rue de Mons beside the palace. The walks meet in the squares inside the walls.
None of the tours collects you from a hotel, so a bed near cours Jean Jaurès saves you a walk before breakfast. The page on where to stay weighs the areas.
How do you arrive and leave by train?
The TGV from Paris takes 2 hours 40 minutes, and from Lyon an hour. It stops at Avignon TGV, 6 km out, where a TER shuttle runs to Avignon Centre in a few minutes. Centre station sits right outside the walls.
On your last day, the bridge runs a free, supervised left-luggage for its visitors, so you can walk it with your bags stored. The page on getting there covers the car parks too.
What if the weather turns?
Keep the palace for the grey day. It is almost all indoors, and it takes two hours. Autumn is the wet season here: September, October and November each bring close to 90 mm of rain.
The wind is the other variable. Météo-France counts about 108 days a year of gusts at 58 km/h or more, and the Mistral is the wind behind most of them. If an operator cancels for the weather, you are offered another date or a full refund. See the weather month by month for the rest.
What does each plan cost?
Prices are per person, from the fares on sale today and the monuments' own tariffs.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Evening | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | The palace and the bridge, €19.50 | The market, the back streets | The garden above the river | €19.50, plus a food walk from $98 |
| Two | A half day out from $92 | The sights you missed | A square in town | $92 to $114 |
| Two, wine | The palace, €16 | A wine afternoon from $126 | Back by 6 pm | €16 plus $104 to $126 |
| Three | A full day out | The same day | Back by early evening | $150 to $203 |
How does July change the plan?
July is festival month. In 2026 the Festival d'Avignon ran from 4 to 25 July, and the city filled for it. Book your beds and your tours as soon as your dates are fixed.
Do the palace at opening, take a day out in the heat of the afternoon, and keep the evenings for the shows. Our guide to the quieter hours has more.
Frequently asked questions
Is two days enough for Avignon?
Which day should the wine country go on?
How do I get from Avignon TGV to the old town?
Where do the day tours start?
Do the tours pick up from hotels?
Where can I leave my bags on the last day?
Is Avignon worth visiting in winter?
Tours for a three-day stay
Enchanting Historical Walking Tour in Avignon
Ninety minutes to two hours on foot from Place Crillon, with whisper-box audio (bring 3.5 mm earphones) and two churches on the way. The palace ticket is extra.
From $29 per person
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Luberon, Roussillon & Gordes Half-Day Tour from Avignon
Five hours from the tourist office to a spring below a cliff, Gordes, a short abbey photo stop and an hour in Roussillon. Strollers and infant seats fine.
From $92 per person
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Chateauneuf du Pape wine tour
Seven hours from rue de Mons beside the palace: a vineyard stop, three wineries, an old village cellar and a long lunch break at your own cost. No children.
From $203 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Choosing between the palace and the wine country? The twelve best things to do rank them. Every fare sits side by side on Avignon Tours.