Pont du Gard

Visiting the Pont du Gard

Cost. The visit cost for the Pont du Gard (2017) is 8.50 euros per person; kids 6-17 years, 6.00 euros. (A family with three kids will cost 35 euros.) You obtain a ticket at the entry kiosk to the parking area (on either the left bank or the right bank). At the visitors center you present your entry ticket, and pay for every person in your group. Every person receives an entry ticket, which you'll present to the guards for entry to the site, and a parking ticket that you present at the parking exit kiosk.
You can also purchase your tickets online via the Pont du Gard website.

Entry. The main entry parking is on the left bank (rive gauche) side of the river, on the D19/D981 road between Avignon and Uzès (just northwest of Remoulin). The main visitor center is on this side, where you walk through to access the bridge.

There's also parking on the right bank (rive droite) side of the river. Access to this side is at the western edge of Remoulins. Cross the bridge on the west side of town and turn right (north) onto the Ave du Pont du Gard. This road goes about 1.5 km to end at the parking area for the Pont du Gard and a hotel.

Pont du Gard - Roman Aqueduct. The main point of this site is, of course, the Roman aqueduct (see Pont du Gard History, below). For this, you take a leisurely walk from the visitors' center out to the "pont", examine the construction, enjoy the view up or down the river valley, wander across to the far side, explore down along the river at the far side, or take the trails up to the hilltop on the near side.

Pont du Gard - Visitors' Center. The visitors' center is where the ticket machines and information center are located. Here too are the restrooms, snackbar, bistro, souvenir boutiques, bookshop and audioguides for your visit (available in several languages). The visitors' center also has "Discovery" areas, with an interactive museum and an educational kid's play area.

Across the Top

Guided walks across the top of the Pont du Gard can be done during July and August. You walk through the original Roman waterway of the acueduct, partly beneath the old stone roof-covering and partly along topless sections. The side walls are very high, so there's no danger, and the view is wonderful.

The walk begins on the right bank (south side) end, across the bridge away from the main visitors center. Follow the path up to the top of the hill, where you buy your ticket and where the walk starts. The crossing begins when enough visitors have gathered and the next guide is available. You cross from one end to the other, with the guide pointing out characteristics of the aqueduct and the lime buildup from the ages. At the end, you climb down the steps and back to the bottom on the left-bank side.

The guided crossing runs from 1 August through the first week of September; the cost (2016) is 4 euros (2 euros for kids).

Dining

There's snack-bar/café fare at the visitors center, and a lovely up-scale restaurant on the left bank. On the right-bank, Les Terrasses café-restaurant is in a lovely setting beneath huge plane trees, and has menus at 18€, 30€, 40€ and a 10€ kiddies menu (2012).
 

Cycling

Very popular cycling routes cross the Pont du Gard. Rather than pay for the visitors parking, many people seem to park at Remoulins, at the west side of the Remoulins bridge, at the beginning of the Ave du Pont du Gard. From there, you can unload your bikes and cycle in to and across the bridge (although you're requested to walk your bike when you pass through the visitors center).

Hiking

There is no charge for access to the Pont du Gard for hikers. The GR6 (Grande Randonnée) hiking trail crosses the bridge.

To the south, the GR6 crosses the low wooded hills (146 m) to the village of St Bonnet-du-Gard, and continues south via Sernhac and Meynes to Beaucaire on the Rhône.

On the north side of the Pont du Gard, the GR6/GR63 trails go west along the Gorges du Gardon, past Collias and on up the Gordon to Anduze.
Eastward from the north side of Pont du Gard, the GR63 goes through the perched village of Castillon-du-Gard, Rochefort-du-Gard and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, on the Rhône beside Avignon.

Pont du Gard History

Click for our separate Pont du Gard History page.