France · 14th century
The Palais des Papes (English: Palace of the Popes; lo Palais dei Papas in Occitan) in Avignon, Southern France, is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was a seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Benedict XIII in 1394. In 1995, the Palais des Papes was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding architecture and historical importance for the papacy.
Text adapted from “Palais des Papes” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Palais des Papes ranks #76 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #8 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1350, it is older than 55% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 38,230 times in the last 60 days, more than 99% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 770,000 visitors in 2023. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Marseille, 86 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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