Pont du Gard
Not far from Avignon and Nimes, near the small town of Resmoulins, is one of the great Roman ruins: the aqueduct at Pont du Gard (built about 19 BC). Passing modern bridges and round-abouts to the town of Resmoulins, it was just a short drive to the museum gateway of this enormous arched structure--second tallest ever built by the Romans, just a little shorter than the Roman Colosseum.
A nice car park, ticket area (with bathrooms), huge museum, and meandering walkway led us to the site, visible through the trees: the largest arches ever built by the Romans, 80 feet wide. The lovely Gard river valley stretched through the gorge (too bad it was cold, so no one was swimming!).
Standing
on the middle level, overlooking the Gard River
Hiking in the hillside overlooking the aqueduct
Looking back from and toward down-river
Crossing the bridge, we climbed up into the hillsides overlooking the aqueduct, for grand views of the span and the river. From the top, you could see (but not enter) the top span, which carried the water across the aqueduct. It connected at one end to a long, very dark tunnel through the mountainside, part of the water channel.
Top level of the aqueduct, which actually carried the water
