Pont St-Bénézet, Avignon

One thing we do like about arriving in our new locations early is that we actually get to do some of the “tourist” things on our travel day, meaning we have more time on the rest of our days to relax a bit as well as explore.

So this afternoon we managed to check out the Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as Pont d’Avignon, which is a Medieval bridge originally built in 1177. The original bridge was a wooden bridge spanning the Rhône river and was built between 1177 and 1185. This early bridge was destroyed forty years later in 1226 during the Albigensian Crusade. Beginning in 1234 the bridge was rebuilt with 22 stone arches. The stone bridge was about 900 metres in length and only 4.9 metres wide, including the parapets at the sides. The bridge was abandoned in the mid-17th century as the arches tended to collapse each time the Rhône flooded making it very expensive to maintain. Four arches and the gatehouse at the Avignon end of the bridge have survived. The Chapel of Saint Nicholas which sits on the second pier of the bridge, was constructed in the second half of 12th century.

The bridge was the inspiration for the song Sur le pont d'Avignon and is considered a landmark of the city. It was lovely to be out on the sunshine admiring the views of the town and the river, standing on a structure that is so old. Yet again we are amazed.

After some more walking and picking up some groceries we decided to call it a day. The early morning to catch the 5.45am train has made for a very long day and we are looking forward to a good sleep.Read more