Le Pont du Gard
Yann de Fareins
Cycliste et pont du Gard
Emmanuel Dautant Les Poulets Bicyclettes

The Pont du Gard

A staggering piece of Roman heritage

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Pont du Gard aqueduct reads like a book of records in its own right! It measures, at its highest, 49m in height and 275m in length; some of its stone blocks are over 2.3m in dimension, while c.50,000 tonnes of stone were employed for the entire construction. It was built to resist, successfully, massive floods in the Gardon Valley. It’s one of the best-known, best-preserved Roman sites in the world. A staggering feat of engineering, it spans the Gardon Gorge. The place amazes visitors both because of its impressive grandeur and the beauty of its natural setting. 

The site of the Pont du Gard can be visited year-round. The museum on the spot relates all the stages in its construction. From Beaucaire, a 22km-long greenway allows cyclists to reach the Pont du Gard easily from the Méditerranée à Vélo cycle route. The greater aqueduct of which the Pont du Gard was just a part was built to carry water from Uzès to Nîmes. For five centuries, it provided the city of Nîmes with vast quantities of pressurized water. Talk about making the practical beautiful!
 

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Le Grau-du-Roi / Beaucaire -Tarascon

7 Le Grau-du-Roi / Beaucaire -Tarascon

68 km
4 h 44 min
I’m used to cycling
Enjoy the Camargue’s environment further on this stage of the Mediterranean Cycle Route. Cycle beside the Canal du Rhône à Sète, then across a plain dotted with lakes and irrigation canals and crisscrossed by tracks leading to traditional ‘mas’ (farms). Some of the cyclists you encounter will be finishing their journey along ViaRhôna. At the level of Fourques, you can head to Arles with its amazing Roman and Romanesque legacies. Saint-Gilles, at the foot of the wine-producing Coteaux des Costières, has a fine medieval centre. Discover Beaucaire, with its river port, before crossing to Tarascon-sur-Rhône, its imposing fort dominating the opposite bank.
Beaucaire - Tarascon / Cavaillon

8 Beaucaire - Tarascon / Cavaillon

39 km
3 h 19 min
I’m used to cycling
Guarding the Rhône, Tarascon’s medieval fort signals the entrance to the Alpilles for cyclists on the Méditerranée à Vélo route. The town of St-Rémy-de-Provence makes an unmissable stop for atmosphere and for understanding Van Gogh’s fascination with this area, marked by the special light emanating from the local limestone. The greenway from St-Etienne-du-Grès to St-Rémy-de-Provence is a successful transformation of a former rail line, with stopping points for cyclists as well as locals to enjoy. The last stretch of this stage takes you along pretty little farm tracks, with beautiful views over the Alpilles. A cycle path leads you across the Durance River, facilitating your arrival in the town of Cavaillon.