I pick up a car in Avignon and will be making my way to Millau via Nimes.
I will have 3 days site seeing Avignon are including Pont du Gard upon my return, but am thinking if it is a nice sunny day on the way to Millau , quickly drop by Pont du Gard. I will have all my luggage in my vehicle and wondering is it possible to pull off the roadside close by for a 10 minute break and maybe grab a photo, or are the parking areas highly regulated?

Thanks in advance

There is a rest area designed just for stopping and looking at the bridge on the north side along A75.

The last time I visited the Pont du Gard, I had all of my luggage with me, so I deliberately chose a parking space in the official lot with the greatest amount of foot traffic going past it. I spent about 2 hours there without worrying about my stuff.

Kerouac's advice is sound, as usual. I would also advise you not to leave anything valuable visible in the car - no coats, i-pads, purses, etc.

Theft from cars can happen anywhere, and may be when you least expect it. It has certainly declined considerably in the U.K. in recent years, as security has increased.

Does car theft happen in the town where you live?

Good advice from Kerouac.

Great, thanks for the responses.
Yes theft does happen in my town, but usually don't have luggage with valuables left in my vehicle(am thinking of taking a small netbook with me etc).

Cheers

I have a little shoulder bag where I keep my netbook, camera and a few other items which are NEVER left in the car.

The "new" bridge that is adjacent to PdG has been closed to traffic for many years (I last drove along it in the 80's). A pity, because previously you could park under PdG walk along the top and drive off.

There are postings in the archives about visiting Pont du Gard without using the car parks, including links to google maps. Unfortunately I wouldn't leave the car there with valuables.

I think you will just have to bite the bullet and pay for parking.

Peter

I really don't know about any free looks at Pont du Gard. If there is a glimpse from the the highway, I would imagine that it is quite a distant view. They actually charge admission to see this site by charging 15 euros per vehicle to park in the lot (was a good deal for us since we had 6 in our van). It takes a little time to walk from the lot to the Pont, at least from the Rive Gauche side (can't say about the other side). We had to leave bags out in the open in our van, but parked in an area where there was a lot of foot traffic and had no problems. I wonder if the pay to park vs. pay for admission to the site scheme has helped cut down on thieves, since they would have to pay to get into and out of the lot, and a quick getaway might be problematic.

I also wondered about that, although it's been a few years since I've been there. But even parking in the lot, you have to walk a ways to get to it, at least up fairly close.

I was so thrilled to actually be driven across the Pont du Gard as a little boy. Back then, you could just pull off the road on either side and spend all the time you wanted.

After they closed that road, everything was different -- but there were also 10 times more tourists, so it was necessary.

Thanks again, interesting comments. Just to confirm you pay before you park? I also noticed on google satellite maps there are two carparks one on the north, and one on the south of the Gard, with the Northern one being the biggest.

You take a ticket when you go into the parking lot, then have to pay at a machine located in the courtyard of the museum, presumably on your way out. You run the validated ticket through a machine in order to get the gate to let you out of the lot. At least that's how it works on the Rive Gauche side (where the museum is located). My guess is that it is the same on the other side. The lot is smaller over there because the museum is on the Rive Gauche side, making it quite a walk.

Yes, it works just like an urban parking lot (even though it doesn't look like one).

Thanks again!

Right - for those wishing to visit the Pont du Gard and not too keen to stump up the cost of the parking I offer below a response I left on a previous post - note this is not something I'd consider doing if the car were loaded with my stuff... but then again it's a pretty busy road so you'd think thieves wouldn't chance it, but to be on the safe side I too would plump for a busy spot of the main carpark site.

But for everyone else out there...

<i>"Quote <b>trotsky</b>: "In May I was on a bus from Nimes to Uzes & two people were put off at an intersection (roundabout?) & told to walk. Signs said at least 1k to the Pont du Gard."
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Ah... but if you get off at that roundabout you'll see that thee are a fair smattering of vehicles parked up on the shoulder of the road. That's becasue if you walk along the path under the trees up a small rise you'll eventually arrive after 5 mins at the undisturbed remains of the aqueduct, half tumbled down, some arches still intact and entirely free to explore. From there you can wander down a well marked path - complete with little information panels discussing mediaeval agriculture and its effect on the landscape, and down through a couple of olive groves before arriving at the main path just below the restaurant you mention, about 100 meters from the Pont proper.

As a car driver I always use this approach - I save the parking fees and get to enjoy more of the aqueduct and the walk through the olive trees.</i>

I strongly recommend this approach - you'll see a lot more of the aqueduct, parts that most visitors never see and it's a far more more pleasant approach to the site than getting out on the carpark and fighting your way through the coachloads of schoolkids on the concourse and the ambling and frankly self-absorbed folkblocking the path to the bridge.

Dr D.

Sorry - to be clear, I'm recommending you park your car at the side of the main Remoullins-Uzes road at the little roundabout (which I think is a junction for Vers Pont Du Gard if memory serves me correctly - I haven't an atlas with me to check) where you'll find another dozen or so cars parked.