Pont du Gard and Uzès: The Roman Aqueduct and the First Duchy of France
Occitanie, France
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Aqueduct Engineer
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275
XP
+100 France
= 375 total
2 days
Pont du Gard and Uzès: The Roman Aqueduct and the First Duchy of France
275 + 100 XP
Between about AD 40 and 50 the Romans built an aqueduct to bring water more than 50 km from the Fontaine d'Eure at the foot of Uzès to Nîmes, and the Pont du Gard carries it across the Gardon on three tiers rising 48.77 m above low water, the tallest aqueduct bridge known anywhere in the Roman world; it joined the UNESCO list in December 1985. Uzès, at the head of the aqueduct, is called the first duchy of France, a rank of precedence granted to its duke by Charles IX in 1565, and its Saturday market fills the arcaded Place aux Herbes under the plane trees.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Cross the Pont du Gard on Henri Pitot's road deck of 1743–47, count the arches on the way — six below, eleven in the middle, thirty-five above, with twelve of the top row long gone — and look along the joints: almost the whole bridge is laid dry, without mortar, some of its blocks weighing six tonnes and held by oak tenons
2
of 4
Paddle the 8km of the Gardon from Collias down to the Pont du Gard by canoe, stopping to swim on the way, in summer
3
of 4
Buy your week's herbs at the Saturday market on the Place aux Herbes at Uzès, under the plane trees and the arcades, and fill a bottle at the worked cast-iron fountain that stands in the middle of the square
4
of 4
Climb the Duché at Uzès to the top of its 42 m tour Bermonde, then find the other two feudal towers that share the town, the tour du Roi and the tour de l'Évêché, and finally the tour Fenestrelle beside the cathedral, a 42 m round bell tower standing on its own and the only one of its kind in France
Cross the Pont du Gard on Henri Pitot's road deck of 1743–47, count the arches on the way — six below, eleven in the middle, thirty-five above, with twelve of the top row long gone — and look along the joints: almost the whole bridge is laid dry, without mortar, some of its blocks weighing six tonnes and held by oak tenons
Paddle the 8km of the Gardon from Collias down to the Pont du Gard by canoe, stopping to swim on the way, in summer
Buy your week's herbs at the Saturday market on the Place aux Herbes at Uzès, under the plane trees and the arcades, and fill a bottle at the worked cast-iron fountain that stands in the middle of the square
Climb the Duché at Uzès to the top of its 42 m tour Bermonde, then find the other two feudal towers that share the town, the tour du Roi and the tour de l'Évêché, and finally the tour Fenestrelle beside the cathedral, a 42 m round bell tower standing on its own and the only one of its kind in France
Before you go
The canoe trip down the Gardon to the Pont du Gard is a summer trip.
The bridge, its footpaths and the car park are open every day from 08.00 to midnight all year, but the museum, cinema and children's space close for the winter from November to February and every Monday morning for maintenance. The canoe descent from Collias runs in the warm months only and is cancelled when the Gardon is high; this river floods hard, and in September 2002 the water reached three quarters of the way up the bridge's lowest arches. The site is pedestrian-only: park in the signed car parks on either bank.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
275 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
375 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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