Title: Avignon Content: Avignon (; ) is a commune in southeastern France in the department of Vaucluse on the left bank of the Rhône river. It is the capital (prefecture) of the Vaucluse department. The historical centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism. == Name == The earliest forms of the name were reported by the Greeks: *Аὐενιὼν = Auenion *Άουεννίων = Aouennion (Ptolemy II, x). The Roman name Avennĭo Cavarum (Mela, II, 575, Pliny III, 36), i.e. "Avignon of Cavares" shows that Avignon was one of the three cities of the tribe of Cavares, along with Cavaillon and Orange. == History == Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes lived in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I (; March 1328 – 27 July 1382) was Queen of Naples and Countess of Provence. Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France. == Geography == Avignon is on the left bank of the Rhône river, a few kilometres above its confluence with the Durance, about southeast of Paris, south of Lyon and northwest of Marseille. It has an area of and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .  On the west Avignon shares a border with the department of Gard and to the south it borders the department of Bouches-du-Rhône. Avignon is surrounded by the communes Sorgues, Le Pontet, Vedène, Morières-lès-Avignon and Caumont-sur-Durance and the departments Bouches-du-Rhône (communes of Noves, Châteaurenard, Rognonas and Barbentane) and Gard (communes of Les Angles and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon). The Rhône, the Durance (tributary of the Rhône) and the L'Anguillon (tributary of the Durance) are the rivers flow through the commune. The Rhône passes the western edge of the city but is divided into two branches: the Petit Rhône for the part that passes next to Avignon, and the Grand Rhône for the western channel which passes Villeneuve- lès-Avignon in the Gard department. The two branches are separated by an island, the Île de la Barthelasse. The Durance flows along the southern boundary of the commune into the Rhône and marks the departmental boundary with Bouches-du-Rhône. ===Climate=== The climate of Avignon, in the Köppen climate classification, is Csa - Oceanic climate with hot summers. The average temperature for the year in Avignon is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of . The average amount of precipitation for the year in Avignon is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is January with an average of . ==Population== The inhabitants of Avignon are known, in French, as Avignonnais (women: Avignonnaises). With a population of 92,209, Avignon has a population density of inhabitants/km2. Evolution of the population in AvignonT Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:100000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1968 text:1968 bar:1975 text:1975 bar:1982 text:1982 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:1999 text:1999 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2014 text:2014 PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:1968 from:0 till: 86096 bar:1975 from:0 till: 90786 bar:1982 from:0 till: 89132 bar:1990 from:0 till: 86939 bar:1999 from:0 till: 85935 bar:2006 from:0 till: 92454 bar:2011 from:0 till: 90194 bar:2014 from:0 till: 92209 PlotData= bar:1968 at: 86096 fontsize:S text: 86,096 shift:(-12,5) bar:1975 at: 90786 fontsize:S text: 90,786 shift:(-18,5) bar:1982 at: 89132 fontsize:S text: 89,132 shift:(-18,5) bar:1990 at: 86939 fontsize:S text: 86,939 shift:(-18,5) bar:1999 at: 85935 fontsize:S text: 85,935 shift:(-18,5) bar:2006 at: 92454 fontsize:S text: 92,454 shift:(-18,5) bar:2011 at: 90194 fontsize:S text: 90,194 shift:(-18,5) bar:2014 at: 92209 fontsize:S text: 92,209 shift:(-18,5) == Transport == === Rail === Avignon has three train stations: Gare d'Avignon Centre, Gare d'Avignon TGV and Gare d'Avignon-Montfavet. == Administration == Avignon is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department since 1793. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Avignon and the administrative centre  of three cantons, all formed with part of the commune: # Avignon-1 : 30,134 inhabitants (2014) # Avignon-2 : 34,426 inhabitants (2014) # Avignon-3 : 35,749 inhabitants (27,649 in Avignon and 8,100 in Morières-lès-Avignon) (2014) It is part of the intercommunality Grand Avignon . === Sister cities === Avignon is twinned with: * Guanajuato (Mexico) since 1990. * Ioannina (Greece) since 1984. * New Haven (USA) since 1993. * Siena (Italy) since 1981. * Tarragona (Spain) since 1968. * Wetzlar (Germany) since 1960. ==Places of interest== Some interesting places in Avignon are: * The Notre Dame des Doms cathedral (12th century). * The Palais des Papes ("Papal Palace") (14th century). * The Pont d'Avignon (the Pont Saint-Bénézet), a bridge best known for the famous French song Sur le pont d'Avignon. ==Gallery== File:Pont d'Avignon.jpg|The Pont d'Avignon with Mont Ventoux in the background. File:Vue d'ensemble du Palais des Papes et de la cathédrale Notre -Dame-des- Doms.jpg|Palais des Papes and the cathedral. File:Avignon Palais-des-Papes.JPG|Historical centre of Avignon ==Related pages== * Avignon Papacy * Arrondissement of Avignon * Communes of the Vaucluse department