Heritage · Vers-Pont-du-Gard, Gard, Occitanie

Pont du Gard

A three-tiered Roman aqueduct bridge nearly 50 metres high over the Gardon river, built to carry water to Nîmes

Ambient sound · similar settingGrey cicada singing in a southern countryside ash tree

Photo: Sue Winston (@winniepix) / Unsplash

Discover Pont du Gard

The bridge spans the green waters of the Gardon in a wooded gorge between Uzès and Nîmes. Its lower tier has six large arches, the middle tier eleven and the top tier 35 smaller arches carrying the water channel, which was laid with a gradient so slight that the bridge drops only about 2.5 centimetres along its length. The large stone blocks of the arches were laid without mortar.

Today the bridge is the centrepiece of a managed site with car parks on both banks, a museum, a cinema, children's areas and trails through Mediterranean scrubland. Access to the site itself is free; visitors pay for parking and for the exhibitions, and in summer the river beaches below the arches fill with swimmers and kayakers.

Don’t miss

01The three tiers of Roman arches seen from the river beaches below
02The museum explaining how the 50-kilometre aqueduct was built and operated
03Walking across the eighteenth-century road bridge beside the lower arches
04Swimming or kayaking on the Gardon with the bridge overhead
05Trails through garrigue and olive groves to viewpoints over the gorge

History & culture

The story of Pont du Gard

The aqueduct was long attributed to Agrippa around 19 BC, but excavations suggest it was built around the middle of the first century AD. It supplied Nemausus, the Roman city of Nîmes, until it fell out of use around the early sixth century. In the Middle Ages the bridge was used as a road crossing, and the lords and later the bishops of Uzès were allowed to charge tolls in return for maintaining it.

In 1743–47 the engineer Henri Pitot built a road bridge alongside the lower arches, and after a visit by Napoleon III in 1850 the monument was restored in the 1850s. It has been protected as a historic monument since 1840 and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. Since 2003 it has been managed by a public cultural body.

Local life & traditions

The Pont du Gard sits in the Gard countryside of vineyards, olive groves and stone villages between Nîmes, Uzès and Avignon. Uzès, near the springs that fed the aqueduct, is the nearest market town. On summer days local families picnic and swim along the river below the bridge.

Things to do

Experience it like a local

Visitors usually walk from the car park to the bridge, cross it on the road bridge, and spend time on the rocky riverbanks. The paid discovery areas include a museum on Roman engineering and water, a short film and a children's area, and guided tours lead visitors along the aqueduct. Kayaks are a common sight on the Gardon in summer, and cycle routes such as the Beaucaire–Uzès greenway pass nearby.

When to go

Spring and early autumn are pleasant for walking and sightseeing. July and August are hot and busy, but the river is good for swimming then. The site and car parks are open all year, while the museum and other cultural venues close from November to February.

Plan your visit

Verified information

Entry and parking: Access to the site is free; parking costs €9 per car per day regardless of the number of people. Discovery areas (museum, cinema, exhibitions) cost €8 per adult and are free for under-18s; guided tours €15 per adult. Source: pontdugard.fr ↗
Opening hours: Site and car parks daily 8:00–midnight. Cultural venues: April–June and September 9:00–19:00, July–August 9:00–20:00, March and October 9:00–18:00, closed November–February, and closed Monday mornings. Source: pontdugard.fr ↗
Getting there: By car from the A9 motorway, exit 23 (Remoulins); the site is 27 km from Nîmes and 21 km from Avignon. Bus line 115 runs from Avignon and line 121 from Nîmes. Source: pontdugard.fr ↗
World Heritage status: Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct), on the UNESCO World Heritage List; height almost 48.77 m. Source: whc.unesco.org ↗

Checked against the sources on 29 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.

Travel tips

Come early or late in summer to avoid the heat and the midday crowds.
Bring swimwear and water shoes for the rocky river beaches.
Keep your parking ticket: it can be converted into an annual pass at no cost.
Arrive at least 50 minutes before the museum closes to see it properly.
Combine the visit with Uzès, where the aqueduct started, or with Nîmes, where it ended.

General guidance from our specialists, not official information.

Around Pont du Gard: food, markets & places to stay

Nîmes, with its Roman arena and the Maison Carrée, is about 27 kilometres to the south-west, and Avignon about 21 kilometres to the east. The market town of Uzès lies a short drive north, and Remoulins is the nearest village. The Luberon villages and the lavender fields of Provence are further east.

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Sources & verification

This guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 29 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.

Getting here – prices and opening hours — Pont du Gard
Pont du Gard — Pont du Gard
Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Pont du Gard — Wikipedia

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