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Explore One of Rome's Greatest Feats of Engineering at Pont du Gard, France
Published by Marjorie McAtee, Writer
Country: France 
The Experience
The Roman Empire is known for a lot of things, including feeding Christians to lions, inventing the alphabet, and popularizing the cucumber (yes, really!). The Romans were so good at empire-building that many of their edifices survive, relatively unscathed, twenty centuries later—including the Pont du Gard aqueduct bridge near Remoulins, France.
The Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct was constructed to the city of Nîmes in the south of France. People had been living in the region for thousands of years before it became part of the Roman colony of Gaul in 45 B.C. The Pont du Gard aqueduct was built in the first century A.D., when Nîmes was home to about 20,000 Roman citizens.
In the past, the city had relied on the spring at Nemausus for its water needs. With an exploding population, and a lot of bath-happy Romans moving in, Nîmes needed an aqueduct. The aqueduct would fill the city's fountains and provide plumbing for personal homes and spas. Construction of the Pont du Gard began in the year A.D. 40 A.D., and continued until A.D. 60. It spanned the reign of two emperors, Claudius and Nero. The aqueduct carried water from the Eure spring, 50 kilometers away, to the water tower in Nîmes. France's Pont du Gard, the biggest structure along the length of the aqueduct, is 49 metres high, with three rows of arches: 6 on the first level, 11 in the middle, and 47 on the top. There was 54,000 tons of stone that went into this bridge, which would have had at least 1,000 men working on it at any given time during the three to five years of its construction.
The aqueduct, of which the Pont du Gard forms a part, was actually quite the civil engineering feat in its day. Aqueducts were designed to carry water by the power of gravity alone, by sending it on a continuously downhill course. The difference in altitude between the Eure spring and the water tower at Nimes was only 12 meters. What makes this aqueduct amazing is that Roman engineers were able to design a gradually descending path throughout the entire length of the channel. For most of the channel's length, they accomplished this by burying the channel in a stone-lined ditch. But when geological obstacles required them to progressively re-route the channel back to the surface and across bridges such as the Pont du Gard, they still had to maintain a constant decline.
The Pont du Gard is impressive, not only for its size and construction, or the fact that it's lasted so long; but because it forms a part of one of the most inspired aqueducts Rome had ever built. Today, the Pont du Gard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been since 1985, covering 165 hectares of the surrounding countryside.
The Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct was constructed to the city of Nîmes in the south of France. People had been living in the region for thousands of years before it became part of the Roman colony of Gaul in 45 B.C. The Pont du Gard aqueduct was built in the first century A.D., when Nîmes was home to about 20,000 Roman citizens.
In the past, the city had relied on the spring at Nemausus for its water needs. With an exploding population, and a lot of bath-happy Romans moving in, Nîmes needed an aqueduct. The aqueduct would fill the city's fountains and provide plumbing for personal homes and spas. Construction of the Pont du Gard began in the year A.D. 40 A.D., and continued until A.D. 60. It spanned the reign of two emperors, Claudius and Nero. The aqueduct carried water from the Eure spring, 50 kilometers away, to the water tower in Nîmes. France's Pont du Gard, the biggest structure along the length of the aqueduct, is 49 metres high, with three rows of arches: 6 on the first level, 11 in the middle, and 47 on the top. There was 54,000 tons of stone that went into this bridge, which would have had at least 1,000 men working on it at any given time during the three to five years of its construction.
The aqueduct, of which the Pont du Gard forms a part, was actually quite the civil engineering feat in its day. Aqueducts were designed to carry water by the power of gravity alone, by sending it on a continuously downhill course. The difference in altitude between the Eure spring and the water tower at Nimes was only 12 meters. What makes this aqueduct amazing is that Roman engineers were able to design a gradually descending path throughout the entire length of the channel. For most of the channel's length, they accomplished this by burying the channel in a stone-lined ditch. But when geological obstacles required them to progressively re-route the channel back to the surface and across bridges such as the Pont du Gard, they still had to maintain a constant decline.
The Pont du Gard is impressive, not only for its size and construction, or the fact that it's lasted so long; but because it forms a part of one of the most inspired aqueducts Rome had ever built. Today, the Pont du Gard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been since 1985, covering 165 hectares of the surrounding countryside.
When to Go to Pont Du Gard
The Pont du Gard at Nimes is open all year round; but, since it's outside, you may want to visit in the spring, summer, or early autumn, on a fair-weather day. You'll find a cafeteria and restaurant on site, but you may want to pack a picnic lunch if you're doing a lot of exploring. Be sure to dress in layers, wear walking shoes, and bring plenty of water, especially if you're visiting in the summer. The Pont du Gard bridge is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. October to April, and remains open longer (until 7:00 p.m.), May through September. The Pont du Gard is closed on Mondays.
Day tickets to the Pont du Gard site can be had for 10 euro per person from November to February, and 15 euro per person from March to October. All tickets give access to the Pont du Gard and ruins of the aqueduct, as well as over seven kilometers of walking trails and picnic areas, the temporary exhibitions in the museum, and the Mémoires de Garrique exhibition. The March to October ticket includes access to the museum, Ludo (an educational exhibition for visitors aged 5 to 12), and the cinema. Ticketholders visiting in July and August have access to the swimming area.
Day tickets to the Pont du Gard site can be had for 10 euro per person from November to February, and 15 euro per person from March to October. All tickets give access to the Pont du Gard and ruins of the aqueduct, as well as over seven kilometers of walking trails and picnic areas, the temporary exhibitions in the museum, and the Mémoires de Garrique exhibition. The March to October ticket includes access to the museum, Ludo (an educational exhibition for visitors aged 5 to 12), and the cinema. Ticketholders visiting in July and August have access to the swimming area.
Odds n' Ends
The Pont du Gard architecture has provided inspiration to many noted scribes of the literary world. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henry James, and Hilaire Belloc were all captivated by its magnificence and wrote at length about the enchantment of this Roman aqueduct.
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