Pont Du Gard

The bridge level, where tourists can still walk across from one bank to the other.

The Pont du Gard is an aqueduct, or what's left of an aqueduct, that carried water to Nîmes from about fifty kilometers away to the north. It was built by the Romans in the first century before our era and provided about 20,000 cubic meters of water per day to the city.

A long shot of the aqueduct with people walking on the upper level.

The pont, or bridge, is an engineering marvel, built without any mortar, that has stood for more than 2000 years. It crosses the river Gard (also called the Gardon), hence it's name. It was maintained as a working aqueduct through the fourth century of our era and continued to provide water until it was eventually abandoned nearly 500 years later.

In 1989, tourists like me could still venture out onto the top of the aqueduct. A bit scary, but worth it. At certain points you could climb down into the channel where the water once ran.

Back in 1989, when I first visited it, tourists could still climb up and walk on top and inside the portion where the water once flowed. So, Ken and I scrambled up. There were a few other people up there, too. No railings or other safety features kept you from tumbling off, but no one did, at least while we were there. It was quite exhilarating.

The three levels of the aqueduct span the Gard river, all put together with no mortar and still standing after more than 2000 years.

I went back to the Pont du Gard in 2001 when we were in Provence with our friend Sue and the area around the monument had been transformed with a new parking lot, a museum and shops. The worst change is that people are no longer allowed to climb up onto the top of the bridge. Such is progress I suppose.