Restaurant Christian EtienneAvignon offers an array of dining right across the spectrum, from superb Michelin-starred haute cuisine to budget brasserie cooking.

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Beware: it also has its share of tourist traps and you need to seek out the very best spots.

Three restaurants in Avignon currently hold one Michelin star. In 2021 a new arrival in the guide was Pollen. It's headed up by the award-winning young chef Mathieu Desmarest, named one of France's six Greats of Tomorrow in the 2017 Gault & Millau guide.

Desmarest previously headed up the kitchen at the Hotel d'Europe. Tucked away in the backstreets off the place de l'Horloge, Pollen opened in 2018 and had been getting fantastic word of mouth.

After investing substantially in upgrading its kitchen, pictured, the lovely restaurant in the La Mirande hotel regained its Michelin star in 2019. Prior to that, it had held one star since 1993, then lost it in 2012.

la mirande old kitchenJust on the edge of the walled city, the historic Hotel d'Europe has a more traditional restaurant, called La Vieille Fontaine which has held a Michelin star since 2020.

Pictured top, the Restaurant Christian Étienne had been an institution in Avignon since 1990. It's brilliantly located in a 12th century stone house perched on a rock up a long flight of steps right next to the Palais des Papes.

In 2016 the eponymous Monsieur Étienne sold the restaurant to his long-time deputy chef, Guilhem Sevin and it was renamed Maison Sevin. It lost its one Michelin star in 2021 but remains a popular destination.

Back in the heart of Avignon, the bustling place de l'Horloge is lined with restaurants, most of them offering cheap-ish - though still grossly overpriced - no-frills fare.

hotel du palais des papesThe worst offenders tend to be at the lower end of the square. At the top of the place de l'Horloge and just round the corner on the place du Palais, Le Lutrin in the Hotel du Palais des Papes and Le Moutardier du Pape are two of the better ones.

Both boast a terrific location, with outdoor terraces, pictured, overlooking the Palais des Papes itself. Also here is the Carré du Palais, a lavish showcase for Provence food and wine which opened in 2017.

It serves meals and a vast selection of regional wines, as well as offering wine tasting courses. A gastronomic restaurant, shops and more are promised.

But you don't need to venture very far from the Palais des Papes to find an decent meal. Just off the place de l'Horloge, D'Ici et d'Ailleurs serves inventive fusion cuisine, though it struggles to cope at busy periods and we found it very disappointing on our most recent visit.

Just a couple of minutes away is L'Essential, a small restaurant with a pretty courtyard based in a 17th century hôtel particulier.

The city's main street, the rue de la République, is also lined with serviceable, unremarkable brasseries. Many of them offer a cheap plat du jour (dish of the day) at lunchtime but the chief attraction is people-watching from a pavement table. The best of these restaurants, the long-established Hiély Lucullus, is actually on the first floor at no.5.

There are some tasty finds just behind the rue de la République. A bright newcomer is the Italian eaterie Italie Là-Bas! at 23 rue de la Bancasse. Michelin awarded it a bib gourmand in its guide to good-value dining.

The rue Joseph Vernet has a number of interesting spots and, in the adjacent rue Violette, there's a terrific restaurant in the peaceful, elegant courtyard of the Collection Lambert.

It's called Le Violette, serves Asian-influenced fusion fare and is open for lunch and dinner (even when the art gallery itself is closed).

avignon lagape exteriorBehind the other side of the rue de la République, the pedestrianised place des Corps Saints, pictured, teems with open-air bistros all set around a beautiful central fountain and is an ideal spot for an informal lunch or early supper.

At no.21 on the square is the very popular L'Agape, pictured. which opened in 2014 and, just a few months later, earned a Michelin bib gourmand. as well as kudos in the Gault & Millau guide.

Veggie / organic options are on the menu at Terre de Saveurs, just off the place des Corps Saints, at 1 rue Saint Michel and at Cuisine et Comptoir which serves bistro food at 24 rue des Lices.

Antonia Pyemont-Coughlan and Russell Coughlan of Fou de Fafa, AvignonAnd a few minutes off the square in the opposite direction is Fou de Fafa, a little restaurant started in 2010 by a British couple, Antonia Pyemont-Coughlan and Russell Coughlan, pictured.

Its simple, yet stylish and affordable menu has made it a firm favourite, especially - though not exclusively - with English-speaking visitors in town.

Another high concentration of bistros and bars can be found in the pocket of back-streets around the picturesque, cobbled rue des Teinturiers and the nearby rue Thiers.

They are particularly buzzing in summer, when the area is the focal point of Avignon's Off (fringe) theatre festival, though they can be rather deserted in the winter months.

Locals recommend Le Zinzolin, which is primarily a wine bar but also serves excellent food while L'Offset, in a former printing works (complete with vintage printing press in the main bar area), was taken over recently and offers good, cheap basic fare. Both venues have live music on certain evenings.

Click here to view a complete and up-to-date list of all the Michelin-starred restaurants in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

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