Place Crillon (Crillon Square), Avignon

Crillon Square (Place Crillon), located in Avignon, is a historic square with a rich past that dates back to the early 17th century. On the 1618 city plan, it appears as the second largest square in Avignon, following the grand square of the Palace of the Popes. Originally known as “Place du Limas”, the square's initial name, "limas," derived from the Latin "limaceus" (meaning muddy), referred to land reclaimed from the Rhône River in this area. Over the years, it was renamed Comedy Square (Place de la Comédie) before finally being named Crillon Square in 1843, in honor of Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, a distinguished 16th-century captain who passed away in Avignon in 1615.

Historically, Crillon Square was home to a statue of Saint Bénézet, perched on a two-meter-high pedestal and protected by an iron gate, until 1766. On the north side of the square stands the Hôtel d'Europe. Its construction spanned several centuries, from the 16th to the 19th, and it welcomed its first notable guest, Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1799, shortly after opening.

Opposite the Hôtel d'Europe once stood the Royal Palace Hotel (Hôtel du Palais-Royal), a favored stop for travelers between Marseille and Paris. Owned by Claude Etienne Pierron in the late 18th century, it hosted notable figures like General Bonaparte in 1798 and Pope Pius VII in 1809. Stendhal mentioned it in his 1837 Memoirs of a Tourist. It was also the site of Marshal Brune's assassination by White Terror supporters on August 2, 1815, an event later harshly depicted by Alexandre Dumas, Brune's godson, in his novel Les Compagnons de Jéhu.

Today, Crillon Square stands as a reminder of Avignon’s layered history, with its ties to notable historical figures, literary references, and its evolution in name and purpose over the centuries.