Orange, France is a city of approximately 28,000 inhabitants with Roman origins in the Vaucluse department in southern France, 21 kilometers north of Avignon. Known for its incredibly preserved Roman Theater, Orange is worth a night of sightseeing, although for those who want a glimpse of the city, the Roman Theater, and the Arc de Triomphe, a day trip from Avignon is going to be fine. .
Arriving in Orange
By train: the Gare d’Orange is located on Rue P. Semard. Orange is easily accessible by train from Arles, Avignon, Montelimar, Valence and Lyon.
There are car rentals at the station and nearby hotels.
By car: Orange is east of the A7 motorway. The A9 motorway from Nimes, La Languedocienne, intersects the A7 near Orange.
Here’s a Google map of the area around Orange.
Things to see and do in Orange
The incredibly preserved Roman Theater and Arc de Triomphe from the reign of Augustus are the best sites in Orange. The Roman Theater is a UNESCO World Heritage site, added in 1981 – the Arch was later included. The Chorégies d’Orange Music and Opera Festival is held in the theater in summer.
During the Middle Ages, people built small houses inside the theater. These were maintained until relatively modern times and even hampered the restoration of the theater. On the other hand, their existence probably saved the theater from the extraction that would have taken place to build new houses.
For lovers of Roman archeology, the excavations of the Roman Temple near the theater are also interesting.
You can better understand archeology with a visit to the Municipal Museum on Rue Roche, which contains many artifacts from excavations carried out in and around Orange , the most important being fragments of a property inspection map of the area scraped in marble. It was used as a means of property taxes.
The Orange Cathedral, the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Nazareth , is of Romanesque design built on earlier structures dating back to the 4th century. A look inside offers the opportunity to see many paintings and some Italian frescoes. The worship here pinged among the religions for a time. In 1562 the cathedral was sacked by Huguenots and turned into a Protestant church; it was returned to Catholic control 22 years later. During the evolution of the French R, it became a temple dedicated to the “Goddess of Reason” and once again returned to Catholic religious practices when the Revolution ended.
Orange has a weekly market that takes place on Thursdays on Rue de la Republique.
Stay in orange
A top-notch budget hotel in Orange is the two-star Hôtel de Provence – Orange at 60 Avenue Frederic Mistral, near the Gare d’Orange train station (but it also offers free parking if you come by car). If you want to stay close to the theater, the two-star Hotel Saint-Florent is just a few steps away.
Approximate distances to attractions outside of Orange
Avignon – 21 km
Chateauneuf-du-Pape (vinícola region) – 5.5 mi / 8.9 km
Gigondas (wine) – 15.2 km
Pont du Gard – 31 km
Other Provence attractions near Orange
See our Provence Map for other attractions in the area. The department of Vaucluse includes the famous Luberon, and the charming town of St. Remy lies beyond the border of the department to the south.
This is how we spend our Week in Provence, much of it in the Luberon and the Camargue, or you can just look at our photos of Provence.
