The History of the Languedoc: Romans: The Pont du Gard
  The
Pont du Gard is a spectacular well-preserved three tiered
Roman aqueduct built over the River Gard (or Gardon). It is a bridge
as well as an aqueduct, located 25 kilometers north-east of
Nimes
in the direction of Avignon.
It preserves original style of the era of Augustus.
At almost 50 meters in height it is the tallest the Romans ever constructed.
It is part of the aqueduct built around the year 20 BC to transport water over 50 kilometers from the Eure spring near Uzès to the city of Nîmes.
 As
there was only 17m fall from the headwaters at Eure to Nîmes,
the incline had to average 0.35mm per metre. The
aqueduct is about 300m long and 49m above of the river.
The bottom arches have spans of 15.75m to 21.5m, and areabout
155m wide and 20m high. On the top of them is
a road (7m wide) which carries modern traffic.
The middle arches have the same spans as those on the bottom
tier. The length is about 265m in total. The height of middle
tier is about 21m and its width is 5m. On the
top tier 35 small arches, about 8.5m high and 3m wide, support
the waterway.
The Pont du Gard was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. The Pont du Gard is visited by more than 1,250,000 tourists every year, making it the 2nd most visited provincial monument in France.
On the left bank of the river, "la Grande Expo" presents information about
the Pont du Gard. There are also the inevitable
bar, restaurant and boutiques. Nearby are trails
that lead to panoramic viewpoints, the banks of the Gardon,
and picturesque ruins. In the summertime, the
nocturnal lights designed by an American lighting expert
illuminate the bridge.
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