We spent an afternoon visiting the Pont du Gard on our way home from my birthday weekend in Marseille in June 2020. The parking lot was massive, but there were only a few cars in the lot since we visited on a Monday. We had to pay to visit, but once we were in we could spend the day on one of the nearby beaches, hike on the trails, or swim in the river. There was also a restaurant and cafe on site, making it easy to relax and stay a while if we wanted to.
The Pont du Gard is a UNESCO world heritage site that was built by the Romans in the first century AD. Almost 2000 years ago! It was part of an aqueduct that was 31 miles long to carry water from a spring to a town of Nîmes. The aqueduct was used for over 400 years and carried almost 9 million gallons of water every day to the town. When the Roman empire collapsed, the Pont du Gard became a toll bridge for people as they crossed the river. Today, it’s a site for many tourists and locals who come to spend the day relaxing by the river.
