The city of Avignon in France is a favorite destination of ours for its rich history, medieval architecture and world-class contemporary art scene. Both a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its extraordinary papal heritage and intact historic center and a European Capital of Culture, Avignon offers acclaimed festivals and exhibitions set against a backdrop of incredible historic landmarks.

On our most recent visit to Avignon, we saw OTHONIEL COSMOS or the Ghosts of Love, an incredible city-wide installation on view between June 2025 and January 2026 by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel.

Known for his large-scale works of public art in blown glass and stainless-steel, Othoniel installed more than 200 artworks in ten different sites to mark Avignon’s 30th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its ongoing prominence as a center of arts and culture.

Through hundreds of works in glass, gold leaf, mirrors and oversized steel beads that create an immersive dreamscape across the city, Othoniel explores themes of love, longing and memory inspired in part by the sonnets of Petrarch, who is said to have met his muse Laura in Avignon. Petrarch devoted more than 300 poems to Laura in his Canzoniere; Othoniel envisioned each artwork as a sonnet, including a large red Murano glass heart in the Chapelle Saint-Claire, where Petrarch is believed to have first seen her.

Especially memorable was the installation at the Palais des Papes, the seat of the papacy in the fourteenth century and one of the largest Gothic palaces in the world. Throughout the grand halls, vaulted chapels and former papal chambers, glowing glass bricks, vibrant blue hues and golden astrolabes contrasted beautifully with the palace’s historic architecture and frescoes.

More than 100 pieces displayed throughout the palace-fortress created an otherworldly interplay between contemporary art and Avignon’s rich past, reflecting the city’s ongoing relationship between historic legacy and modern creativity.

Among the works were a glass fountain in the gardens, suspended glass sculptures referencing zodiac signs against a night sky in the pope’s antechamber, ink paintings of flowers in the Banquet Room and a sculpture in the fireplace of the former papal bedroom that echoes the surrounding wall frescoes of vines.

Some of our favorite installations in the Palais des Papes included the lapis lazuli-colored glass bricks forming a Tomb of Love in the Chapel of Saint Martial, their deep blue tones echoing the hues of the palace’s historic frescoes by Matteo Giovanetti, as well as the suspended necklaces of vibrant Murano glass in the Tower of Angels.

In the Great Chapel, the installation entitled Cosmos, Blue River was especially striking, with golden astrolabes suspended from the ceiling hovered above a shimmering river of thousands of glass bricks spread across the floor. Othoniel often speaks about beauty and enchantment in his work, and both were powerfully realized in the vast halls of the palace.

Contact Artisans of Leisure to begin planning a private France tour that incorporates extraordinary art and culture destinations in the Provencal region around Avignon, including Arles, Aix-en-Provence and Chateau La Coste.