Hi Everyone. I'll be in Provence in a couple days, and will be there when the European Heritage weekend is going on, 21-22 September.

The special program in Avignon looks great, including a free guided tour of different hotels particuliers and tours of the museums. But it's also a Saturday, which means the potential for lots of tourists seems great.

What would you do? Will Avignon be too crowded on a Saturday in mid-September, or do the European Heritage opportunities justify a visit?

Thanks in advance

The European Heritage days are not that well known. I don't think that adds any extra number of visitors.

The European Heritage opportunities justify a visit.

I can't imagine making a point of avoiding things that are created specifically to attract people.

It sounds to me like what you'll get is well worth enjoying, even with lots of company. Especially the places you'll see that aren't generally open to the public, quite an opportunity.

The equivalent day in the U.K. outside London was today, and there were over 80 places open in the city where I live, most of which are not normally open to the public, like the Synagogue, and the refuse recyclng depot. Some places are in demand and you have to book. The rest are usually moderately busy with visits by local residents. The atmosphere is always good, since the volunteers are keen to show people around, and the visitors know what they have come for, and are not just ticking things off a list.

I imagine Avignon would be much the same. It will be a good opportunity to mix with the local residents.

We normally schedule our visits to France to include Patrimoine weekend. This year I screwed up & thought it was this weekend. Our departure from Paris was to be early on Sept 22 with travel to Paris on Sept 21. Unfortunately, we had to cancel & re-schedule this trip due to family matters. I have re-scheduled it for a week later in Sept 2020. We've visited France for about 4 Patrimoine weekends, and they were fabulous. None in Provence, however. We have been in Dijon, Rennes, and the Dordogne for Patrimoine (all popular destinations) and didn't notice any abnormal crowds. We were in Paris last year - but really didn't participate in Patrimoine.

Stu Dudley