Avignon, Vaucluse Département, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Geography | Economy | Areas of economic activity | Tourist Industry | Agriculture | Economy : Industry | Public sector (excluding government) | Employment

🇫🇷 Avignon is a town in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of South-eastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the heart of the commune is the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval ramparts. It is France's 35th largest metropolitan area according to INSEE with 336,135 inhabitants (2019), and France's 13th largest urban unit. Its urban area was the fastest-growing in France from 1999 until 2010 with an increase of 76% of its population and an area increase of 136%. The Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon is a cooperation structure of 16 communes.

Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when during the French Revolution it became part of France. The city is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its city walls.

The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its architecture and importance during the 14th and 15th centuries. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon (commonly called: "Festival In d'Avignon") and its accompanying Festival Off d'Avignon - one of the world's largest festivals for performing arts, have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.

Geography Avignon is on the left bank of the Rhône river, a few km above its confluence with the Durance, about 580 km (360 mi) south-east of Paris, 229 km (142 mi) south of Lyon and 85 km (53 mi) north-north-west of Marseille. On the west it shares a border with the department of Gard and the communes of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Les Angles and to the south it borders the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and the communes of Barbentane, Rognonas, Châteaurenard, and Noves.

The city is in the vicinity of Orange (north), Nîmes, Montpellier (south-west), Arles (to the south), Salon-de-Provence, and Marseille (south-east). Directly contiguous to the east and north are the communes of Caumont-sur-Durance, Morières-lès-Avignon, Le Pontet, and Sorgues.

Economy Avignon is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vaucluse which manages the Avignon – Caumont Airport and the Avignon-Le Pontet Docks.

Avignon has 7,000 businesses, 1,550 associations, 1,764 shops, and 1,305 service providers. The urban area has one of the largest catchment areas in Europe with more than 300,000 square metres of retail space and 469 m2 per thousand population against 270 on average in France. The commercial area of Avignon Nord is one of the largest in Europe.

The tertiary sector is the most dynamic in the department by far on the basis of the significant production of early fruit and vegetables in Vaucluse, The MIN (Market of National Importance) has become the pivotal hub of commercial activity in the department, taking precedence over other local markets (including that of Carpentras).

A Sensitive urban zone was created for companies wanting to relocate with exemptions from tax and social issues. It is located south of Avignon between the city walls and the Durance located in the districts of Croix Rouge, Monclar, Saint-Chamand, and La Rocade.

Areas of economic activity There are nine main areas of economic activity in Avignon.

The Courtine area is the largest with nearly 300 businesses (of which roughly half are service establishments, one third are shops, and the rest related to industry) and more than 3,600 jobs. The site covers an area of 300 hectares and is located south-west of the city at the TGV railway station.

Then comes the Fontcouverte area with a hundred establishments representing a thousand jobs. It is, however, more oriented towards shops than the Courtine area.

The MIN area of Avignon is the Agroparc area (or "Technopole Agroparc"). The Cristole area is contiguous and both have a little less than a hundred establishments.

Finally, the areas of Castelette, Croix de Noves, Realpanier, and the airport each have fewer than 25 establishments spread between service activities and shops. The area of the Castelette alone represents more than 600 jobs – i.e. 100 more than Cristole.

Tourist Industry Four million visitors come annually to visit the city and the region and also for its festival. In 2011 the most visited tourist attraction was the Palais des Papes with 572,972 paying visitors. The annual Festival d'Avignon is the most important cultural event in the city. The official festival attracted 135,800 people in 2012.

River tourism began in 1994 with three river boat-hotels. In 2011 there is a fleet of 21 river boat-hotel vessels, including six sight-seeing boats which are anchored on the quay along the Oulle walkways. In addition, a free shuttle boat connects Avignon to the Île de la Barthelasse and, as of 1987, a harbor master has managed all river traffic.

The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Agriculture The city is the headquarters of the International Association of the Mediterranean tomato, the World Council of the tomato industry, and the Inter-Rhône organisation.

Economy: Industry Only EDF (Grand Delta) with about 850 employees and Onet Propreté with just over 300 exceed 100 employees.

Public sector (excluding government) The Henri Duffaut hospital, the City of Avignon, and the CHS of Montfavet are the largest employers in the town with about 2,000 employees each. Then comes the General Council of Vaucluse with about 1,300 employees.

Employment In 2017 the unemployment rate was 26.0% while it was 20.7% in 2007. There are 38,731 people in the Avignon workforce: 102 (0.3%) agricultural workers, 2,194 (5.7%) tradesmen, shopkeepers, and business managers, 5,598 (14.5%) managers and intellectuals, 8,486 (21.9%) middle managers, 11,734 (30.3%) employees, and 9,247 (23.9%) workers.

Avignon, Vaucluse Département, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France 
<b>Avignon, Vaucluse Département, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France</b>
Image: Chatsam

Avignon was ranked #1109 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Avignon has a population of over 445,501 people. Avignon also forms the centre of the wider Avignon Arrondissement which has a population of over 515,536 people. It is also a part of the larger Vaucluse Département.

To set up a UBI Lab for Avignon see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Avignon has links with:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Colchester, England 🇸🇳 Diourbel, Senegal 🇲🇽 Guanajuato, Mexico 🇲🇽 Guanajuato City, Mexico 🇺🇸 New Haven, USA 🇮🇹 Orvieto, Italy 🇮🇹 Siena, Italy 🇪🇸 Tarragona, Spain 🇪🇸 Tortosa, Spain 🇩🇪 Wetzlar, Germany
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | Nomad

Antipodal to Avignon is: -175.194,-43.949

Locations Near: Avignon 4.80574,43.9493

🇫🇷 Carpentras 5.049,44.056 d: 22.8  

🇫🇷 Arles 4.628,43.675 d: 33.6  

🇫🇷 Nîmes 4.36,43.837 d: 37.8  

🇫🇷 Istres 4.99,43.515 d: 50.5  

🇫🇷 Nyons 5.14,44.36 d: 52.9  

🇫🇷 Apt 5.397,43.877 d: 48  

🇫🇷 Montélimar 4.745,44.565 d: 68.6  

🇫🇷 Alès 4.082,44.128 d: 61.2  

🇫🇷 Aix-en-Provence 5.446,43.526 d: 69.7  

🇫🇷 Largentière 4.294,44.544 d: 77.6  

Antipodal to: Avignon -175.194,-43.949

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 17478.4  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16688.4  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16650.4  

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 16223.6  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 12644.4  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 12574.6  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 12563.1  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 12557.4  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 12556.7  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 12547.3  

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