About this place
The Pont Saint-Bénézet, known the world over simply as the Pont d'Avignon, is one of the most celebrated bridges in France even though most of it no longer exists. Legend says it was begun around 1177 by a young shepherd named Bénézet who claimed divine orders to span the wild Rhône, and the first crossing was finished a few years later. Rebuilt from about 1234 with twenty-two stone arches, it stretched roughly nine hundred metres to the far bank, but repeated floods tore away its piers until the people of Avignon abandoned it in the seventeenth century. Today only four arches and the little chapel of Saint Nicholas survive, jutting dramatically into the river and immortalised in the children's song Sur le pont d'Avignon.
Key facts
- 1177 year — Legend says the shepherd Bénézet began building the bridge
- 1234 year — The crossing was rebuilt with twenty-two stone arches
- 4 arches — Of the original span, only four medieval arches survive today
📍 Pont Saint-Bénézet, 84000, Avignon