Visiting the Palais des Papes in Avignon costs €16 at full price, or €19.50 with the Papal Gardens and the Pont d’Avignon. The monument is open every day of the year, from 9 am to 7 pm from March 1 to November 1, with last access 1 hour before closing. Online booking is recommended, not compulsory. For families, our guide to Parc Spirou: tickets, hours and rides helps round out a stay in the Vaucluse.
Residence of the popes in the 14th century, the palace is also the stage of the Festival d’Avignon, born in 1947 in its Cour d’honneur. This guide uses the official information recorded on 15 October 2026 and adds a calculation useful in Provence: heat and day length month by month, given that the palace is neither air-conditioned nor heated. For the rest of the city, see our guide to visiting Avignon.
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Palais des Papes: key facts
- Hours: 9 am–7 pm from March 1 to November 1; 10 am–5 pm from November 2 to December 18; last access 1 hour before closing
- Standard price: Palais des Papes €16; Palace + Papal Gardens + Pont d’Avignon €19.50; free for under-10s
- Booking: recommended online, not compulsory
- Closing day: none, open every day of the year
- Duration: not published for the free route (25 rooms); the comfort route lasts 2 hours
- Information checked on 15 October 2026 on palais-des-papes.com (official site). Prices and hours may change: check before you go.
Tickets: official, City Pass or resellers?
The official ticket office is accessible from palais-des-papes.com. The combined ticket adds the Papal Gardens and the Pont Saint-Bénézet (the Pont d’Avignon) for €3.50 more. If you are visiting several sites, the Avignon City Pass is sold by the same site.
| Ticket (recorded on 15 October 2026) | Full | Reduced | Ages 10–17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palais des Papes | €16 | €13 | €10 |
| Palais des Papes + Papal Gardens + Pont d’Avignon | €19.50 | €16 | €12 |
| Avignon City Pass 24 h | €24 | — | — |
| Avignon City Pass 48 h | €32 | — | — |
Residents of Avignon get free entry with proof (the official site details this; its pages do not give exactly the same days, so check on site). The Histopad, an augmented-reality tablet, is lent free of charge at the entrance, and a “Les Clefs du Palais” WebApp accompanies the new route opened on May 1, 2026.
Opening hours and closing days
| Period | Hours |
|---|---|
| January 1–4 | 10 am – 6 pm |
| January 5 – February 6 | 10 am – 5 pm |
| February 7–28 | 10 am – 6 pm |
| March 1 – November 1 | 9 am – 7 pm |
| November 2 – December 18 | 10 am – 5 pm |
| December 19–31 | 10 am – 6 pm |
Until spring 2027 the palace is carrying out work on a new visitor route: some rooms may be closed occasionally because of events. In July, the Cour d’honneur hosts the Festival d’Avignon (2,000 spectators per performance according to the official site); the 2027 dates were not published on 15 October 2026.
Best time to visit the Palais des Papes
The official site states that the palace is neither air-conditioned nor heated. We combined this rule with the Météo-France normals for Avignon (already published on our Avignon page) and the sunset time calculated at the palace:
| Month (15th) | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length (h:min) | Average max temp | Days ≥ 30 °C (86 °F) | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8:12 | 17:28 | 9:16 | 10.7 °C (51 °F) | 0.0 | 5.7 |
| February | 7:39 | 18:10 | 10:30 | 12.4 °C (54 °F) | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| March | 6:52 | 18:46 | 11:54 | 16.6 °C (62 °F) | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| April | 6:57 | 20:24 | 13:27 | 19.7 °C (67 °F) | 0.0 | 6.5 |
| May | 6:14 | 20:59 | 14:45 | 23.9 °C (75 °F) | 1.9 | 6.0 |
| June | 5:57 | 21:25 | 15:28 | 28.7 °C (84 °F) | 11.5 | 3.7 |
| July | 6:12 | 21:21 | 15:09 | 31.5 °C (89 °F) | 22.0 | 2.6 |
| August | 6:44 | 20:45 | 14:01 | 31.1 °C (88 °F) | 19.9 | 3.3 |
| September | 7:20 | 19:51 | 12:32 | 26.0 °C (79 °F) | 4.5 | 5.2 |
| October | 7:55 | 18:57 | 11:02 | 21.0 °C (70 °F) | 0.1 | 6.0 |
| November | 7:35 | 17:14 | 9:39 | 14.7 °C (58 °F) | 0.0 | 7.5 |
| December | 8:08 | 17:03 | 8:55 | 11.0 °C (52 °F) | 0.0 | 5.2 |
How to read it: July has on average 22.0 days at 30 °C (86 °F) or more and August 19.9: in summer, visit right at 9 am, at opening, and finish with the terraces before the afternoon heat. April–May and September–October offer maximums of 20 to 26 °C (68 to 79 °F) with the long opening hours (9 am – 7 pm). In winter, wrap up warm: the rooms are not heated.
What to see: the visitor route
More than twenty rooms are open (25 rooms on the route, according to the official site):
- The Cour d’honneur, stage of the Festival;
- The audience rooms: the Great Audience Hall and the Consistory;
- The state rooms: the Grand Clementine Chapel and the Grand Tinel, the banqueting hall;
- The Saint-Martial and Saint-Jean chapels, with frescoes by Matteo Giovannetti;
- The Pope’s Chamber and the Stag Room, painted rooms;
- The terraces, with views over the city and the Rhône.
Key points: nine popes resided in Avignon in the 14th century, according to the monument’s website, which presents the palace as the largest Gothic palace. You can distinguish the austere Old Palace from the more decorated New Palace. The new route opened in May 2026 is eventually to be organized around three themes, with interactive models, documentary films and new signage: content may therefore change from one visit to the next until spring 2027.
We estimate the free-route visit at 1 h 30 – 2 h (the palace does not publish a duration for this route); add an hour for the Papal Gardens and the bridge with the combined ticket.
Getting there
- On foot: 25 minutes at most from any point within the city walls, according to the palace;
- Train: Avignon Centre station is a 15-minute walk away;
- Bus, tram, regional coaches to the city center;
- Bicycle: on the ViaRhôna route, the palace holds the Accueil Vélo label.
Accessibility and rules of visit
The standard route has many stairs and is partially inaccessible by wheelchair. An accompanied comfort route exists, by reservation only (up to 24 hours before), on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 am to 12 pm and on Sundays from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm; it lasts 2 hours. The palace provides baby carriers, left-luggage and rest areas free of charge. Animals are prohibited (except guide and assistance dogs), and photos are prohibited in the painted rooms: the Pope’s Chamber, the Stag Room and the Saint-Jean chapel.
A little history and the new 2026–2027 route
The Palais des Papes was the residence of the popes in the 14th century. It was built from 1335, in less than twenty years, mainly under two builder popes, Benedict XII and his successor Clement VI. The monument is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The route has 25 visit locations: state rooms, chapels, cloister and the pope’s private apartments, decorated with frescoes by the Italian Matteo Giovannetti.
Since May 1, 2026, the palace has been rolling out a new route with rooms previously closed to the public, interactive models, films and new signage, also accessible from the “Les Clefs du Palais” WebApp in 6 languages. The work continues until spring 2027: some rooms may be under refurbishment during your visit.
- Guided tours: several options are offered, including a night tour of the palace and a storytelling tour for young and old; family workshop tours also exist (program on palais-des-papes.com);
- Palace + Bridge ticket: valid on the same day and the next day, with a single entry per site;
- Exhibition: “Relatum: Lee Ufan at the Palais des Papes”, from July 3 to November 15, 2026.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Arriving less than an hour before closing: that is the last access time;
- Photographing in the painted rooms: prohibited;
- Visiting in the afternoon in midsummer: the palace is not air-conditioned;
- Coming in a wheelchair without booking the comfort route;
- Forgetting earphones: the palace recommends them for the video and audio content.
What to see nearby
The Pont Saint-Bénézet, the Rocher des Doms garden and the Petit Palais are a few minutes away; everything is detailed in our guide to visiting Avignon, with the climate month by month. To explore further, see also our guide to Provence.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a visit to the Palais des Papes cost?
On 15 October 2026, €16 at full price, €19.50 with the Papal Gardens and the Pont d’Avignon, according to palais-des-papes.com. Free for under-10s.
What are the Palais des Papes’ opening hours?
9 am – 7 pm from March 1 to November 1, 10 am – 5 pm from November 2 to December 18; last access 1 hour before closing. Open every day.
Do you need to book the Palais des Papes?
No, online booking is recommended but not compulsory. The comfort route for people with reduced mobility, however, must be booked.
Is the Palais des Papes air-conditioned?
No, it is neither air-conditioned nor heated, according to the official site. In summer, visit at opening.
Can you take photos at the Palais des Papes?
Yes, except in the painted rooms: the Pope’s Chamber, the Stag Room and the Saint-Jean chapel.
How long is the Palais des Papes + Pont d’Avignon ticket valid?
It is valid on the same day and until the next day, with a single entry per site, according to palais-des-papes.com.
Our sources
- palais-des-papes.com: Prices and hours, Practical information, The visitor route, Comfort route — consulted on 15 October 2026
- Météo-France, Avignon climate sheet, 1991–2020 statistics (temperatures 1993–2020, precipitation 1994–2020) (normals taken from our Avignon page)
- Solar calculation: NOAA algorithm (Destination de Voyage)
- palais-des-papes.com, home page and FAQ (history, new 2026–2027 route, guided tours, combined ticket, exhibitions) – consulted on 16 October 2026; avignon-tourisme.com, Palais des Papes page – consulted on 16 October 2026
Updated November 2026.