Hôtel La Mirande

Around 1309, Cardinal Arnaud de Pellegrue, a nephew of Pope Clement V, built his cardinal's livrée here, and it remained with cardinals, among them Hugues Roger and Hugues de Saint-Martial, until the siege of 1410, when the palace was partly burnt. In 1653 the house was sold to Claude de Vervins, a lawyer. After his death, his son Pierre, Marquis de Bédouin, had the classical façade that stands today built to designs by the architect Pierre Mignard, from a family of painters to Louis XIV. In 1796 the building was sold to Jean-Baptiste Bénézet-Pamard and became known as Hôtel Pamard; for two centuries it stayed with this prominent Avignon family, close to Napoleon III, amid a dark neo-Gothic décor that the hotel traces back to Viollet-le-Duc. In 1966 it served as a filming location for Jacques Rivette's 'La Religieuse', adapted from Diderot's novel.

The façade repays a close look. Chains of rustication mark the corners, and a central avant-corps frames the door in more rustication. Ground-floor windows are arched; those on the first floor are rectangular, each topped with a medallion framed by palms, and the central one is surmounted by a head of Apollo. Inside, a large room keeps its exposed-beam and joist ceiling. The building has been listed as a Monument Historique since 22 February 1927.

The Stein family bought the building in 1987 and spent three years turning it into a luxury hotel with the decorator François-Joseph Graf and the architect Gilles Grégoire, blending 18th- and 19th-century styles so that the house seems to have gathered its décor over three centuries. Every room is dressed with a historic French printed fabric, indiennes and toiles de Jouy from the Braquenié workshops, heirs of the Royal Manufacture of Jouy. Modern comforts stay discreet: televisions are built into mirrors and the lighting dims softly. The MICHELIN Guide has awarded La Mirande Two MICHELIN Keys.

The hotel stands at 4 Place de l'Amirande, at the foot of the Palais des Papes; Avignon and its palace are on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Free electric shuttles called Baladines run inside the city walls, and from Avignon Centre train station the hotel can be reached on foot through the walled city.

Avignon lies at the crossroads of Provence and Occitanie, near the Mediterranean, the Camargue, the Luberon and the Alpilles, which the hotel sees as making the city an ideal base for a trip through Provence. Avignon TGV station is about 6 km from the city centre, and TGV trains reach it from Paris in 2 hours 40 minutes and from Lyon in an hour. The nearest international airport is Marseille Provence, about 84 km away, while Avignon Provence Airport, about 11 km away, handles mainly private flights.

The Deluxe category measures 21–35 m² and sleeps one or two. There are nine, each with a name and number: Mozart n°10, La Rivière Enchantée n°21, Bambou n°23, Les Acrobates n°24, Pompei n°25, Les Oeillets n°32, L'Indienne n°36, Valmy n°37 and Les Buveurs n°38. Each has its own colour palette, set by the fabric chosen for its wall hanging, and windows of antique glass frame a view of the Palais des Papes.

Deluxe bathrooms are in Belle Époque style, with an encased marble bathtub in Carrara Arabescato and Edwardian-style fittings. Guests in both the Deluxe rooms and the Suite have 24-hour room service.

The Suite, at 57 m² and sleeping up to four, is what the hotel calls its most exclusive experience: an 18th-century suite suspended between the gardens and the Palais des Papes. Carved woodwork, door frames and cornices set off panels covered in the Montgeoffroy pattern, a re-edition of a 1770 cotton inspired by French ikats with floral decoration, once called 'soie Pompadour'. Silk-lined curtains, antique parquet, period furniture, engravings and precious carpets complete the room. The bathroom is a Belle Époque composition with an Arabescato marble bathtub, Edwardian-inspired fittings, draped wallpaper and a window overlooking the garden.

Le Restaurant La Mirande serves gastronomic cuisine from Thursday to Sunday, with lunch from 12:00 to 13:15 and dinner from 19:30 to 21:15. Chef Michele Donvito took over in 2026 after training with triple-Michelin-starred chefs in Italy and with Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille. He writes his menus as triptychs, three plates that answer one another to tell a story, drawing on Provençal terroir, French tradition and memories of Italy, with jus and sauces taking centre stage. Diners choose between the Renaissance dining room and the garden facing the Palais des Papes. The owners also cultivate a 4-hectare estate in Sarrians, in the Vaucluse, about 20 km from the hotel, to supply its kitchens with seasonal produce.

Le Bistrot Pamard is open seven days a week, for lunch from 12:00 to 13:45 and dinner from 19:30 to 21:45, and the hotel says it has long been a favourite with Avignon residents and visitors alike. Tables are laid in the Louis XV salon under Venetian chandeliers or on the garden terrace facing the Palais des Papes. Michele Donvito cooks here too, from local produce and in the French tradition with subtle Italian touches, and the deliberately short menu of three starters, three main courses and three desserts changes with the seasons and the market.

La Table Haute is set in the medieval former kitchen of the Pamard family, equipped with a 19th-century wood-burning stove and surrounded by utensils of the great culinary tradition, and seats up to 12 guests around a large sycamore table. It serves dinner only, from Tuesday to Saturday at 20:00. Chef Thomas Longuesserre, who trained in London and earned a Michelin star at L'Auberge de Noves, took over in February 2024. Cooking in front of his guests, he serves one menu for the whole table, built on market finds and farm produce from the surrounding area, in dishes that pay tribute to Provençal cooking and its seasonal producers.

The Bar & Salon de Thé is open seven days a week across four spaces, among them a patio with Gae Aulenti armchairs and a garden facing the palace. The Salon de Thé runs from 15:00 to 18:00 without reservation, offering home-made pastries, teas from prestigious plantations, kombucha and organic Arabica coffee from Mexico. The Bar, open from 10:00 to midnight, pours seasonal cocktails, single malts and traditional aperitifs, with house creations that showcase Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines and spirits from the Manguin craft distillery in Avignon.

The garden was composed by the gardener Marc Leonetti as what the hotel calls an 'organised disorder' of box hedges, fruit trees, holm oaks, roses and aromatic herbs, all grown organically. In full summer, the hotel notes, it keeps its natural coolness. Around the garden, four uses follow one another through the day: breakfast in the shade of the plane trees, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and gastronomic dinner.

Since 1994, Le Marmiton cooking school has invited leading chefs of Provence to teach on the old wood-burning stove of the hotel's historic kitchens; guest chefs include Michel Meissonier, Jean-Claude Atmayer, Jeff Mouroux and Pascal Barnouin. Aprons, utensils and recipe sheets are provided, and each class ends with a meal paired with wines chosen by the sommelier; participants may invite friends to join them at the table. Besides the cooking classes, the programme includes pastry workshops and workshops for children, and sessions are booked through the class calendar on the hotel's website, where the programme can also be downloaded.

Beyond the kitchen, the hotel organises concerts, exhibitions, markets, culinary events and themed evenings, along with themed stays and special occasions such as the Bal Masqué.