Photo : Véronique PAGNIER / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Tour Philippe-le-Bel
In Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, on the right bank of the Rhône, the Tour Philippe-le-Bel guarded the end of the Saint-Bénézet bridge on the French side, facing Avignon and the papal lands. Its construction was decided in 1292 by King Philip the Fair, at the same time as the nearby Fort Saint-André, and the first floor was completed in 1303. Around 1360, it was raised by a Gothic storey.
Listed as a historic monument as early as 1862, the tower can be visited and you can climb up to its rooftop terrace. From there, the view takes in the Rhône, the remaining arches of the Avignon bridge and the outline of the Palais des Papes, one of the finest panoramas in the region. The visit combines easily with Fort Saint-André and the Villeneuve charterhouse.
