Il Rodano (Rhône in francese, Rôno in arpitano, Ròse in occitano, Rhone o Rotten in tedesco, Rhodanus in latino, Rhodanòs - Ροδανός in greco antico) è un importante fiume europeo. Lungo 812 km, nasce in Svizzera dove scorre per i primi 231 km, per poi proseguire in Francia per altri 581 km fino a sfociare nel Mar Mediterraneo. Con una portata media annua presso la foce di 1.820 m³/s è il principale fiume di Francia per volume d'acqua e il più importante fiume europeo è collettore di Danubio, Don e Dnepr, fiumi assai più lunghi, che lo superano o comunque lo eguagliano per portata).
Avignon (French pronunciation: [a.viˈɲɔ̃] ; Occitan: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm) is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city (as of 1 January 2010), about 12,000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.
Often referred to as the "City of Popes" because of the presence of popes and antipopes from 1309 to 1423 during the Catholic schism, it is currently the largest city and capital of the département of Vaucluse. This is one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts. In addition, its historic centre, the palace of the popes, Rocher des Doms, and the bridge of Avignon are well-preserved. It was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO under the criteria I, II and IV.
As a showcase of arts and culture, the fame of its annual theatre festival, known as the Festival d'Avignon, has far exceeded the French borders.