Rue des Teinturiers
Rue des Teinturiers is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Avignon audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Avignon Avignon guide
About Rue des Teinturiers
A cobbled, tree-shaded street beside a branch of the Sorgue, once Avignon's dyeing quarter, where four of a former two-dozen waterwheels still turn in the canal.
Rue des Teinturiers is a cobbled street running alongside an open, canalised branch of the River Sorgue. It takes its name from the teinturerie, or dyeing, industry that flourished here from roughly the 14th to the 19th century, when water drawn from the Sorgue powered mills, dye works and silk spinners. Fifteenth-century workshops produced wool and silk; later, in the 17th and 18th centuries, they made the bright printed cottons known as indiennes.
Each waterwheel once drove machinery through an axle running beneath the street to a workshop opposite. Around 23 wheels are reported to have been working in 1817; four survive today, still turned by the current though powering nothing, and protected as monuments. The street, nicknamed the rue des roues, holds the Chapelle des Penitents Gris and the former home of the naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre at No. 14. Now a bohemian quarter of cafes and small theatres, it comes alive during the Festival d'Avignon fringe.
Did you know? The street is named for its dyers: from about the 14th to the 19th century, water drawn from the Sorgue powered mills and dye works making wool, silk and printed indienne cottons.
How long should you spend at Rue des Teinturiers?
Plan about ~30 min at Rue des Teinturiers. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Rue des Teinturiers worth visiting?
Rue des Teinturiers is one of the 13 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Avignon, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Avignon
Sources and further reading
Where to check the facts about Rue des Teinturiers and read more:
Day 2 of the Avignon in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Rue des Teinturiers
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