Go visit the Pont du Gard if for no other reason, this "masterpiece" has been standing for 2000 years!

Our favorite Roman ruin in the South of France is the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River about 60 km (37 miles) from our house in Sablet, between the towns of Remoulins and Uzès.

The Pont du Gard is part of a 50 km (31 mile) aqueduct constructed by the Romans in the middle of the 1st century to bring fresh water from the Eure spring near Uzès, to the Roman city of Nîmes where it supplied running water to fountains, baths and private homes around the city.

The Pont du Gard has three tiers of arches; It is 274 meters (899 ft) in length and stands at a height of 48.8 m (160 ft). Its width varies from 9 m (30 ft) at the bottom to 3 m (9.8 ft) at the top. The three levels of arches are recessed, with the main piers in line one above another.

As you walk out to the Pont du Gard, look for the ancient olive trees on the Left Bank along the path from the Visitor Center. The plaque by one of the trees says it was born in 908 and lived in Spain till 1985 when the Counsel General of the Gard adopted the tree and planted it here in 1988.

1,000 year old Olive tree near the Pont du Gard

Make sure you check out the construction of the bridge, take in the view up or down the river valley, wander across to the far side, explore down along the river and climb up the steps to the upper trail where you have great views of the bridge and surrounding area.

Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard was constructed largely without the use of mortar or clamps. Most of the stones were extracted from the Estel quarry located approximately 700 meters (2,300 ft) downstream, on the banks of the Gardon River. The stones were cut to fit perfectly together by friction and gravity, eliminating the need for mortar.

The builders left inscriptions on the stonework conveying various messages and instructions. Many blocks were numbered and inscribed with the required locations, such as fronte dextra or fronte sinistra (front right or front left), to guide the builders

Underside of Pont du Gard archway with Roman Numeral placement markings

Shirley at Pont du Gard

The straight-line distance from the spring near Uzès to the town of Nîmes is only about 20 km (12 mi), but the mostly underground aqueduct was built along a winding route measuring around 50 km (31 mi) to circumvent the southernmost foothills of the Massif Central, known as the Garrigues de Nîmes. This was the only practical way to transport water from the spring to the town.

Pont du Gard from right bank of Gardon River

The Romans needed a way to get the water that would flow through the aqueduct across the Gardon River so they built the Pont du Gard with a water channel to complete the aqueduct and get water to its destination in Nîmes.

A view of the Pont du Gard from the left bank of the Gardon River

It is estimated that the aqueduct supplied Nîmes with around 40,000 cubic meters (8,800,000 imp gal) of water a day that took nearly 27 hours to flow from the spring to the town.

A view of the water channel at the top of the Pont du Gard from the left bank of the Gardon River

As I noted earlier, the Pont du Gard was built to carry water from the aqueduct across the Gardon River. Several of the River's tributaries are also called Gardon. The Gardon River rises in the Cévennes mountain range and flows for 133 km into the Rhône River at Beaucaire, from where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

View of the Gardon River towards Uzès from Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard is one of the most popular tourist attractions in France and is open all year round, though the restaurant and some indoor areas close for part of the winter. You can stay there after dark (exact closing times vary depending on the season), when the bridge is illuminated in summer.

As I told you here, a fun way to view the Pont du Gard is from a canoe or kayak on the Gardon River on a hot summer day. There are several companies around Collias that will rent canoes and provide transportation to your point of departure and from your point of arrival.

The Pont du Gard was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites in 1985. The description on the list states: "The Roman architects and hydraulic engineers who designed this bridge created a technical as well as an artistic masterpiece."

Shirley and friends in front of Pont du Gard

When we go, we park in the lot on the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) which is the main entry and parking lot. The main visitor center is on this side, where you walk through to access the Pont du Gard. There is a small charge for parking and they have recently instituted a fee for visiting the Pont du Gard.

The visitors' center is where the ticket machines and information center are located. Here too are restrooms, snack bar, souvenir shops, book store and audio-guides for your visit (available in several languages).

If you have comments or questions about the Pont du Gard, or elsewhere in Provence, please leave your comments below or send me an email at my address below.

If you are thinking about a trip to the South of France including spending time in Provence, we invite you to visit our website. Our house is available for rent by the week or more. We still have some weeks open in April, June, and August. You can reach us for further information by sending an email to chcmichel@aol.com.

A Visit to the Amazing Roman Theater in Orange

As I have told you before, we generally explore a village or town, see some historical monument, check out an artisan producer of some unusual product, or taste at a winery almost every day we are in Sablet. We don't let grass grow under our feet.

One Friday earlier this year, the day before we were leaving for California, I wanted to do one more outing, but practical Shirley thought we should clean the house and get things set so we wouldn't have to do it at the last minute. We compromised by deciding that we could do an outing as long as it was close by.

Friend Kari was with us and she had not been to the Roman theater in Orange, so we decided to go there. Orange is about 25 minutes from Sablet and best known to Shirley and I as the exit off the A7 and A9 to get home to Sablet. Orange is also where our insurance agency is located and the Tresor Public where we pay taxes for our house.

Orange is best known for its Roman ruins, especially the Roman Theater and Triumphal Arch of Orange. Orange was a thriving city in ancient times - situated on the Via Agrippa - which linked the cities of Lyon and Arles. We arrived in Orange and found parking near the War Memorial, a few steps from the Roman Theater.

War Memorial to the Children of Orange who Died in Wars for France

Colorful cafes are all around the Roman Theater of Orange

The Théâtre Antique d'Orange - literally translated as the Ancient Theater of Orange is an old Roman Theater built in the 1st century between A.D. 10 and 25 under the reign of Augustus in the heart of the town of Orange. It is now owned by the town and is the home of the summer opera festival, the Chorégies d'Orange.

Arched Entry to the Roman Theater

The Roman Theater of Orange is an exceptionally well preserved remnant of the Roman Empire in France. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Entrance to Roman Theater

The Roman theater of Orange owes its fame in particular to its magnificent stage wall, amazingly well-preserved and unique in the Western world. It is the only Roman theater to have preserved its stage wall almost entirely in tact. A new roof which can be seen below was built to protect the stage wall.

Back Wall, Stage and Orchestra of the Roman Theater

A panoramic view out over the town of Orange from the top tier of the Roman theater.

Panoramic View of Orange from the Roman Theater

The terrace seating was constructed in a half circle around the stage and could accommodate 8000 to 10000 spectators. Mime, pantomime, poetry readings and the "attelana" (a kind of farce) was the dominant form of entertainment, much of which lasted all day. The entertainment offered was open to all and free of charge.

The Romans built the terraces for the theater seating against the north side of the existing Saint-Eutrope hill to make the construction easier and the completed theater more stable.

The Seating for the Roman Theater is set against Saint Eutrope Hill

The theater's stage wall was very important as it helped to properly project sound and comprised the only architectural décor in the theater. The theater's original height of 36 m/118 feet has been entirely preserved. The wall was richly decorated with slabs of multicolored marble, statues in niches, and columns.

The stage wall had three doors, each of which had a unique function. The royal door in the center was used by the principal actors for their entrances. The two smaller side doors were for the supporting actors. The second and third levels, comprising columns, are purely decorative.

The Roman Theater Stage Wall

The only remaining authentic statue is the 4 m/13 feet high statue of Augustus in the central niche, used to symbolize the universal presence of the emperor.

Statue of Augustus in the Central Niche of the Roman Theater Stage Wall

As the Roman empire declined during the 4th century, the theater was officially closed and remained abandoned until it became a defensive post in the Middle Ages and then a refuge by townspeople during the 16th century wars of religion.

Nearby, is Saint Florent Church built by the Franciscans in Orange at the beginning of the 14th century. It is simple and austere, according to the style of the Franciscan Order, with one nave, and contains the relics of Saint Florent, a Bishop of Orange in the sixth century.

Saint Florent Church

The exterior façade of the Roman theater is a stone edifice 103 meters or 338 feet long and 36 meters or 118 feet high. Louis XIV is said to have described the façade as “The finest wall in my kingdom”.

Before you leave Orange, make sure you go see the Triumphal Arch, also on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is in fact a commemorative arch erected as a tribute to the veterans of the 2nd Gallic legion who founded the town.

Have a great week. Chat soon.

Le Languedoc, Carcassonne

As you probably know, I am co-proprietor of a small French bistro called Bistro Des Copains in the small Northern California town of Occidental; we are located about 68 miles north of San Francisco.

About six months after opening, we decided to close the Bistro and take a three week holiday, sort of like a French restaurant's "fermeture annuelle". It was January and we had survived the year end holidays; January is traditionally a very slow time for tourism in the wine country.

My partner in the Bistro and I decided to take our chef and one of our servers to France so they could experience the food, wine, people and culture of France since they had never been to France before.

Since we opened the Bistro, our favorite rosé wine has been the delicious Gris de Gris produced by Domaine de Fontsainte from five varietals of grapes from Corbières. Year after year, this wine has all of the best characteristics of a great rosé; color, crispness and dry.

It is easy for me to get off track when I start to talk and think about this wine so I will come back to this in a future post. When I started to research our trip, I saw that Boutenac where Domaine de Fontsainte is located, is only about 45 km from the medieval city of Carcassonne.

We were determined to visit Domaine de Fontsainte and given its proximity, we decided that we should also visit Carcassonne. Carcassonne is a fortified town in the Aude Department of Languedoc-Roussillon.

It is separated into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. The fortress which was thoroughly restored in 1853, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.



Besides its history and beauty and location along the Canal du Midi, Carcassonne is also known for its cassoulet. Cassoulet is a rich slow-cooked stew or casserole containing meat (typically pork sausages, pork, goose, duck and sometimes lamb) and white beans (haricots blancs or lingots).

The dish is named after its traditional cooking vessel, the cassole, a deep, round, earthenware pot with slanting sides. Numerous regional variations exist, the best known being the cassoulets from Castelnaudary, Toulouse and Carcassonne.

As I have written before, I generally plan out our trips quite thoroughly before we go so that we hopefully have positive experiences whereever we go. On some trips, this means we are not very spontaneous; but I digress again.

As I was planning for the trip with our bistro crew, I checked with a variety of sources including local vintners about where we should go in Carcassone to eat a good traditional cassoulet. Numerous people told me we should go to Le Languedoc restaurant.



The traveling party from Bistro Des Copains; Tricia Stagg, Chef Melissa Gonyea, me and my partner in Bistro Des Copains, Cluney Stagg at our table at Le Languedoc. Unfortunately, my wife Shirley couldn't stay as long as the rest of us.



Among the dishes we tried was a tasty offering of moules gratinés prepared by chef Didier Faugeras.



We also tried the chef's version of onion soup gratinés.



And the "pièce de résistance", highlight, and reason for coming to Le Languedoc was cassoulet au confit de canard, the restaurant's specialty. It was the best cassoulet I have ever had. This was the first time I had ever had cassoulet served family style instead of in individual cassoles.

So while the cassoulet might not have had quite as much tasty crunchiness on top, it was a delicious, rich combination of white beans, duck confit, lamb and pork sausage. It was wonderful, so wonderful that I took seconds when it was offered.



To finish off our lunch, I had the "nougat glacé au coulis de framboise", frozen nougat with a rasberry coulis.

Pont du Gard

One of the most impressive historical sites in the South of France is the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct located in the Gard Department of Languedoc-Roussillon. The Pont du Gard is about 60 km from our home in Sablet, between Remoulins and the Duchy of Uzès.

Although technically in Languedoc-Roussillon, the Pont du Gard and Uzès seem more part of Provence and are generally included in guidebooks about Provence.

The Pont du Gard is part of an aqueduct system which brought spring water from a catchment area near Uzès 50 km to the Roman city of Nîmes.

Built by the Romans during the 1st century, the aqueduct was constructed entirely without mortar. The stones, some of which weigh up to 6 tons, were precisely cut to fit perfectly together eliminating the need for mortar.

The cut stone was lifted into place with a massive human-powered treadmill providing the power for the winch.

The full 50 km aqueduct descended only 17 meters in its entire length and delivered 20,000 cubic meters or a little over 5 million gallons on a daily basis.

The Pont du Gard is remarkably well preserved and was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.


I remember visits to the Pont du Gard when I was very young, probably in connection with visits to my grandmother's family who lived near Anduze in the Gard Department, and going swimming in the Gardon River below the Pont du Gard.

As recently as 1995 when we were there, you could climb to the very top and walk across the Pont du Gard. Being afraid of heights, I have never been up there myself. I was not happy when my friend and at that time future business partner Cluney took my daughters up there.

During more recent visits, we were not able to go above the bottom level, probably because of fear of law suits from falls (although the French are less paranoid about this than we are in United States) and to preserve the Pont du Gard for future generations.

The Pont du Gard can be accessed from either the right bank or left bank of the Gardon River. There is a charge for parking but access to the bridge is free. There are several places where you can swim in the river if you so choose.


A good way to explore the Pont du Gard is as part of a visit to the Duchy of Uzes which is worthwhile. There is a wonderful market in Uzès on Saturday mornings one of my favorites after the Tuesday morning market in Vaison la Romaine. Go early as parking is difficult by late morning.