Le Site du Pont du Gard

The most beautiful part of the aqueduct

This is the most grandiose part of a long aqueduct which channeled water over 50 km from a spring in Uzès to the city of Nîmes.
The Pont du Gard is one of the wonders of the Roman world and is UNESCO World Heritage.

The city of Rome itself had over 1000 different bath sites at the peak of its glory, and when Roman leaders established other cities outside of Rome, water was of primary importance. It is easy to understand, that when Rome built the new city of Nîmes, the capital of the Augustinian colony in the middle of the 1st century, they went looking for the 20,000 cubic meters of water they required each day. They found a spring, the Eure spring, near
Uzès, and set their engineers to work building a series of bridges and tunnels to channel that water to Nîmes. The aqueduct they built runs 50 kilometres in length and over that entire distance, the slope is only 17 metres!! This exploit gives a good idea of the quality of the Roman builders, as does the famous Pont du Gard with its 49 arches, which still remains standing some 2000 years later. The Pont du Gard is ranked as UNESCO World Heritage and is a book of records in and of itself. It is 275 metres long, 49 meters high, built with huge stone blocks some of which exceed 2 cubic meters. Over 50,000 tonnes of stone went into building this bridge, which has withstood the wild floods the
Gardon river is capable of. Today the site has been harmoniously organized with a museum, exhibitions, films, children’s space and mediatheque. Everything combines to leave visitors with unforgettable memories.

Guided tours:
In addition to the day pass, guided tours of the Pont du Gard are offered. Enjoy a special visit of this Roman wonder. During the visit, the
group is guided and taken to the top level of the bridge, into the channel where the water flowed when the aqueduct was in use.
There are several choices: guided visits for the general public, channel and Bridge (1 ½ hour). For groups, Bridge and museum (1 ½ hours) or vestiges of the aqueduct (2 hours), and other. Please book ahead for guided tours for groups over 20 persons.
Audio-guides: Audio-guide commentary lasts 1 ½ hours and enables visitors to visit the Pont du Gard and surroundings on own, in French and English.

Site hours
Every day
- 8:30 to 7pm in January, February, November and December
- 8am to 8pm in March, April and October
- 7:30 to midnight May to September.