Visiting Pont du Gard - Questions and comments please
 

We're planning a visit to the Pont du Gard in October 2009, and we have a few questions.

Can you walk on the top tier of the bridge, in the water channels? Or is this area only accessible with a tour guide?

Is the museum worth the time to explore? Their web site says it takes 1.5 hours to visit. How much time did you spend and did you enjoy it?

The website also mentions a 7 km hike along the aqueduct route. Has anyone done this hike. How long did it take and is it worth the hike?

The website mentions several grottos (caverns) which have been discovered in the area. Are these open to the public?

If we're spending the day there, can we bring a picnic lunch with us, including alcohol?

We'll be taking public transportation to and from the site, so I'm trying to estimate how much time we'll spend at the Park so I can plan our return trip.

Any other comments about your visit to the Pont du Gard would be appreciated.

Robyn :)>-

Hi there,

No you cant access the top tiers, they are not open to the public that I know of. We didnt bother with the museum or the hike. Yes you can bring a picnic with alcohol, no problem there.

I think in all we spent maybe an hour there.

You can't walk along the top tier any longer. However the lowest of the 3 tiers is sufficiently high enough above the Gardon River to get some lovely views. Also, there are hiking trails in the adjacent areas around the Pont du Gard which allow you to get even higher in elevation.

I drove there in a rental car, so I don't know how good public transporation is, but there are tour buses that bring people in and out so I imagine that several companies offer day trips via bus.

I didn't really spend much time in the museum, but it is imformative and will give you detailed information about the construction, history et al about the aqueduct.

I spent about a total of 2 hours there.. a great way to spend some time. After the Pont, I spent the rest of the day in Arles chasing Van Gogh

They stopped everyone from walking the top since it was too stressful on the structure.

We skimmed the museum, but really it is not why you are there. There is a nice walk to the aquaduct and across to the other side. That was really all that was necessary. A picnic lunch there would be nice.

I don't know anything about the caves.

If your public transportation can easily get you on to Uzes, we really enjoyed that. It was a cute little town with nice restaurants and a cool old palace and tower to climb.

You can fully explore the area in 1-2 hours. If you are using public transportation I'm not sure exactly how far away you will want to hike as you'll most likely need to retrace your steps back to your staring point.

http://www.pontdugard.fr/

There are a number of buses from either Nimes or Avignon.

I should strongly recommend a visit to Uzès when visiting Pont du Gard.

http://www.uzes-tourisme.com/

October might be too cold, but we enjoyed swimming under the aquaduct.

Thank you for your responses about visiting the Pont du Gard. Your comments have really helped in our planning.

I think we will probably just skip the museum, however, I am going to try to arrange for a guided tour. According to their website, the guided tour only costs Euro 6,00, and the guide takes you to the top tier, into the water channels. Our fascination with the water channel is because my husband is a plumber.

Also, thanks for the recommendation on Uzès. We are now looking at adjusting our plans to include a bus trip to this medieval town. Unfortunately, the bus does not run from Pont du Gard to Uzès, but we will be basing ourselves out of Nimes, and can catch different buses for both places.

And logandog, I think we'll pass on swimming in the river, however I'll probably stick my foot in the water, just because...

Robyn :)>-

Any reason you aren't renting a car? We found ours to be a great resource and gave us lots of freedom. Driving in that area is as easy as driving at home. There is an autoeurope trick to use to get a good rate. We even had a driving tour that took us to Gordes and Rousillon. It was very pleasant.

The fabulous Uzes market is on Saturday morning- food and pottery

The top tier (being the water channel itself) was open until a few years ago. It was interesting, but not crucial to the visit. There is a photo here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aq...nt_du_gard.jpg

You can follow the aqueduct through the forest to a car park on the D981.

More : http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquas...es1/index.html


Peter

I also wouldn't dismiss the museum out of hand. First of all, you'll be drawn to it because it's all big windows with displays that you have to walk by to get down to the bridge. Second, if you want to get a good overview of the history of the pont, it's all right there. Of course, if you're reading your Michelin Green and other guides, you may not need it, but although it's not the most fabulous museum around, I can't see just walking right by it without at least a glance or two.

I'm a bit surprised by some of the comments re:the museum. Aside from the video which traces the route of the acquaduct and and its history, there is quite a bit of info on how the water was distributed, what it was used for and the engineering. And more importantly to your "plumber" husband, there are very interesting exhibits and displays of ancient roman pipes, valves and plumbing devices. Frankly, the museum teaches and displays how the whole Pont du Gard system worked. Personally, I would recommend including it in your visit.
Paul

<I>"Any reason you aren't renting a car?"</I>

I'll be travelling with my husband and our male friend, and no one wants to drive. We'll be on vacation, and drinking the local wine, and we don't want to risk a DUI. Plus, we kind of like taking the public transportation. It gives us the opportunity to meet the local folks. I know we would have more opportunity to explore little villages and towns with a car, but I think we'll have plenty to see and do which is accessed by train (and bus) in the short time that we will be visiting the area.

Peter - Thanks for the links, particularly the Roman aqueduct site. I printed out all four parts for future reading. I am absolutely amazed at the ingenious feat of engineering which built the Pont du Gard. The fact that they could calculate a pitch of 12 meters over 50 kilometers, and then build it to specifications, is incredible. (And they did all that calculating with Roman numerals??!)

StCirq - Our first goal is to see the Pont du Gard (hopefully with a tour guide so my husband can ask all sorts of plumbing questions), and then we would like to do the hike. If we have any time left over before the bus arrives, we'll consider doing the museum.

Thank you, everyone, for your comments.

Robyn :)>-

Paul - I was writing my post (and eating dinner) at the same time you must have posted your response. Okay, now you have piqued our interest about the museum. Pipes, valves and plumbing devices were the keywords.

If we were to do the museum, would you recommend it before or after our visit to the Pont du Gard?

Robyn :)>-

Robyn-
I don't think it would matter but if I had to make a call--probably after you have climbed around and examined the aquaduct. Nimes is a pretty cool place to visit after checking out the PDG--it was the terminus. Your husband will be intrigued by the metallurgy and lead piping.

I was most impressed by the museum's description of how much organization, management, funding, administration and practical maintenance went with the aquaduct. One begins to understand how much influence the Romans had and what was lost when they collapsed. Fascinating to think of running water, irrigation, sanitation and pleasure use that far back.

We enjoyed the museum and the whole Pont du Gard experience. We travelled by public bus from Nimes via Uzes, can't remember whether we went to Uzes first or PDG first. It was a very simple procedure, information about buses was posted at the bus stops, people told us where the bus stops were.
We based ourselves in Nimes for a week and travelled to PDG one day, Arles one day and Avignon one day. These last two were by train, very quick and efficient. Nimes is a good base, a pretty town with stunning Roman remains and good shops, aperitifs and lunches. We stayed in the centre right across from the Roman Temple in an art nouveau hotel I've forgotten the name of.

We drove to the Pont du Gard so I can't help you with transport issues. We thoroughly enjoyed the time there. It had that "special" feel about it. The sort of place you want to linger in. Certainly taking a picnic will be a great idea, that way you can really stop and smell the roses, as it were. Walk right the way across and then down the other side. There are walks from the end of the bridge. They take you quite a way higher and make some super photo shots. Don't rush the experience, take your time and take some walks you will love it. I hope the sun is out for you.
Schnauzer