Driving in Avignon — Crit'Air, the Papal Walls and the Half Bridge

Yes. Avignon's ZFE requires a Crit'Air windscreen sticker for all cars, including foreign-registered ones, with the most polluting classes restricted. Order it ahead from the official site (certificat-air.gouv.fr), as it arrives by post. Driving in the zone without a valid sticker risks a fine from around EUR 68. The compact walled centre is best explored on foot anyway, so parking outside the ramparts is easy.

Check emission zone requirements

Use a car park outside the city walls — there are large lots, including on the Île de la Barthelasse and near the ramparts, some with shuttle buses into the centre — then walk in through the old gates. The walled historic centre around the Palais des Papes and the Place de l'Horloge is compact and largely pedestrian-friendly, so you won't need the car once parked.

Plan your trip costs including parking

The Pont Saint-Bénézet, the 'Pont d'Avignon' of the children's song, is a medieval bridge that once crossed the Rhône but now stops halfway, most of its arches swept away by floods centuries ago. The half-bridge jutting into the river, with the papal palace behind, is one of France's iconic sights. It's at the edge of the walled centre, reached on foot from the car parks.

Excellent. Avignon sits at the heart of Provence and the southern Rhône, within easy reach of the Pont du Gard, the villages of the Luberon, the lavender country, and the great wine names like Châteauneuf-du-Pape just up the road. A car is genuinely useful for exploring these, parked outside the walls when you're in the city. Avignon is also on the high-speed TGV line from Paris.

Not for the city — the walled centre is compact and walkable. A car helps for Provence and the southern Rhône — the Pont du Gard, the Luberon villages, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the lavender fields — driven out from a car park outside the ramparts rather than used in the pedestrian centre.