Avignon for foodies

Avignon’s covered market, “Les Halles”, comes to life in the first few hours of the day: this is an unmissable morning rendez-vous for locals and lovers of good produce

Foodies know it: for the best produce, you have to get up early! So get yourself to Les Halles, Avignon’s indoor market, to fill your basket with Provence-grown fruit and veg, to taste olives and tapenades and give in to the golden pastries on the market stalls.
The stallholders will advise you on seasonal produce to buy and the best ways to cook it. A great way to awaken your taste buds!

Take note

• Free for under 15’s
• Open Tuesdays to Sundays 6 am to 1:30 pm
• From April to October, check out the producers’ night market at Les Allées de l’Oulle, open from 5 to 7 pm

There’s just time to put the fresh market purchases away before you get practicing with a cookery class – tailored to you!

If you’re taking cookery classes, you might as well go for the best teachers! You can arrange to meet them throughout the year at La Mirande, one of Avignon’s greatest restaurants, where they are waiting to share the chef’s secrets with visiting cooking enthusiasts.
Invited by Séverine Sagnet, they teach participants the art of Provençal cooking using seasonal recipes.
Put on your apron, roll up your sleeves and slice, marinade, and cook as you follow the chef’s expert advice!

Take note

• Price: from €125 to €165
• Continue with a patisserie lesson!
• There are also children’s lessons available (7 years and up / €46)

Now you know the secrets of Provençal recipes and products, you just need to find out which are the best wines to pair with certain dishes.

Continue your foodie escapade at the Carré du Palais, on the Place du Palais just in front of the Popes’ Palace. Here, you’ll be able to discover and taste AOC Côtes du Rhône and Rhône Valley wines.
The sommeliers will guide you through the selection of 36 wines by glass and 600 by bottle. There’s no doubt that you’ll find the best vintage here to accompany your morning market finds like a dream!

Take note

• Every week, the École des Vins at Carré du Palais offers educational workshops and after-work events
• Carré du Palais is also a restaurant with a terrace right outside the Popes’ Palace!

To end the day as you should, allow yourself a well-deserved treat – a meal in one of Avignon’s Michelin-starred restaurants

It’s up to you to choose between the two Michelin-starred restaurants in the city: Restaurant Christian Etienne, not far from the Popes’ Palace; or the restaurant La Mirande which you already know!
At Christian Etienne, you will dine in a setting with architecture that is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. At Place de l’Amirande, behind the Popes’ Palace, you can sit at the same table that once seated the Obama family.

These 2 restaurants vie to be the most creative when they serve their seasonal dishes with subtle and refined flavours. It’s up to you to decide where you want to treat yourself!

Take note

• Michelin-starred chef and Maître Cuisinier de France Christian Etienne has now handed over to Guilhem Sevin
• Remember to reserve a table in advance!