In a friendly atmosphere, the reception shares its counter with L’Orsan, a lounge wine bar whose menu favors nectars from local independent producers. Very close to the city center and close to the train station, in a quiet street dotted with beautiful buildings, the Hôtel de Cambis was reborn last spring from the merger of two buildings – one of which dates from the 17the century – formerly forming a set of three buildings with the private mansion of Louis de Cambis, lord of Orsan.
In these buildings connected in an atypical way, the essence of the places has been preserved, such as the high ceilings, the majestic staircases, the blond herringbone parquet floors or the fireplaces. Today there are 41 rooms with a cozy atmosphere, named Premier cru (classic), Grand cru (deluxe and junior suite) and Millésime (suite), since the decorator and artist Julie Gauthron has chosen to color them with a harmonious palette inspired by all the colors of wine.
Provencal references
A vintage red for suite 403, whose singular layout gives pride of place to a glass-enclosed bathroom with a free-standing bathtub enthroned in majesty and a balcony with a breathtaking view, facing the Lapidaire museum and its archaeological collections.
As in the other rooms, the wine bar, the breakfast room or the lounge which can be privatized, the decoration, of contemporary style, distills Provençal references: terracotta tiles on the floor, stylized calisson motif for the curtains and the earthenware tiles of Salers; and, for the headboards, benches, mirrors or cupboards, rounded cutouts evoke the arches of the Avignon bridge or the Palais des Papes.
180 meters away: live an artistic experience
Two 17th century mansionse century were reunited and refurbished respectively by the architects Rudy Ricciotti and Berger & Berger. One shows the permanent fund of the collection of the art dealer Yvon Lambert, offered to the city of Avignon… The other offers temporary exhibitions. Artistic practice workshops, conferences, residences for emerging artists, a boutique bookshop, the Inspire pilot microschool for school dropouts and the Violette restaurant, whose terrace extends under the century-old plane trees of the paved courtyard, make live the place and animate it.
260 meters away: sit down on the terrace
The Grand Café Barretta takes its ease on a pretty square, recently pedestrianized. The place is an Avignon institution, which was once, from 1773 to the end of the 19the century, the city’s first café. Entirely renovated, it reopened in 2018, with its name painted in stick letters on the white facade of this old building and its large terrace which lazes under a giant hackberry tree. With generous proportions, the place now houses a bar with a well-chosen wine list, a brasserie-style restaurant, a library lounge with a convertible room for shows.
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