Having decided to visit France for the first time, we were prompted to visit Avignon due to the song. Where to stay was the next decision, we first looked at hotels and B&Bs. As we normally self-cater in the UK preferring the extra space, we decided to chance our luck on renting a place in Avignon and luckily for us we came across this charming flat via the World Wide Web. From the first email to the owners, up to the final instructions the week before arrival it was all communicated very well by their daughter Julie.

On arrival we were warmly greeted by one of the best neighbours anyone could wish for, Noëlle. With our total lack of French and her little amount of English, we muddled through. As the owners were away Noëlle was our contact for the week. One morning she called to tell us that the water would be turned off in the afternoon, information which we appreciated. We were expecting the owner Mr Martin who lives in the flat below to visit on our departure day, but to our great surprise and delight it was the lovely lady Noëlle, that called to check all was well with the flat .

Now to the flat. The pictures are a true representation of the flat, ‘yes’ the watch cases are on the wall. The bedroom was large and spacious, the bed was very comfortable and king size. There is a well positioned mirror next to a plug ideal for drying your hair, next to the bedroom is a large wardrobe with plenty of coat hangers and floor space for shoes, there is also a small cupboard to hang coats by the door into the flat.

The bathroom was well appointed with plenty of hot water and a quality shower. There is also a nice set of shelves to put your bits and bobs on and a hairdryer is supplied.

The living and dining area was very comfortable with plenty of power sockets, a nice big TV and a small Hi Fi with an IPod dock which was good to have. The wireless internet connection provided was very quick, I only took my IPod Touch, but I’m sure it would work well with a tablet. There are shelves which contain a host of leaflets, guides and maps for Avignon and surrounding area which came in very handy when deciding where to visit. Look out for the “Avignon PASSion” leaflet which has an excellent street map of the historical centre including three colour coded walks and information about discounted entrance fees to the main tourist sites.

The bedroom and living/dining area have large doors opening on to a wrap around balcony with spectacular views over the roof tops.

The Kitchen was also well appointed with a large fridge to chill the beer and white wine. Instant hot water for washing up, it was nice to see washing up liquid and cloths were provided. I agree with the previous reviewer, a starter pack included in the cost for overseas visitors would be nice, as we flew in. Because there are many fine restaurants to choose from we did not need to cook, but there are plenty of pots and pans, toaster, combi-microwave, as well as a hob and a compact dishwasher, if you wish to.

On our first night we opted for a take away and found a good pizza place just down the side road in front of the Les Halles market on Rue Thiers, it is called “Pizza Di Trevi”.

The best meals we had were at the restaurants “Le Chapelier Toqué” on Rue Guillaume Puy, as recommended by two previous guests that had left notes in the guest book and at “Fou de Fafa” on the Rue des Trois Faucons, both worth seeking out.

The flat is ideally located, nowhere is far in Avignon. The walk to the main bus station and tourist office within the walls was about 15 minutes. Two small supermarkets (marked on the map in the kitchen) within the square of the Les Halles market is a minute away. Restaurants and cafés are around each corner, it is truly in the heart of the city.

Overall a great place to stay, highly recommended and we would happily stay there again if visiting Avignon in the future.