Walks in Provence: Pont du Gard

Walks in Provence - Pont du Gard is one of those hiking tours Provence is famous for. However, with local family ties that go back to the 1930’s, you will not be surprised to hear that we have put our own inimitable local stamp on the tour.

Walks in Provence - Pont du Gard welcomes you to Gard-Provence, so good the Romans decided to make it their home for nearly half a millennium. Roman villas abounded and wine production soared – so much so that Rome put a bloc on French wine and thus launched French wine chauvenism. Aided and abetted by the sun-drenched and sandy soils of Nimes’ Costiere region and the Camargue peninsula, this area arguably produces some of France's best regional wines in domains that date back to the Roman era.

The department is the home of ‘la vrai pierre’, so evident in the traditional farmhouses, maisons de villages and, of course, writ large in the epic arches of the Pont du Gard itself. Then, of course, there’s the weather – with Nimes officially France’s hottest city, and the clouds normally blown gently away by Le Mistral, this is a walking holiday in France that can literally be enjoyed all year round.

Starting in Roman Nimes, and finishing in Royalist Uzès, Pont du Gard takes you swiftly north-west to The Gardon Gorge, where the untamable river has carved out some fine gorges for you to savour en route, along with a host of interesting features that make the hiking day very special. The walking is light and undulating and imensely enjoyable. You will approach The Pont du Gard from an angle that most never see, and various vantage points will deliver photos that you will treasure for years to come. And for those who like markets, Uzès has West Provence's best, so you may like to start this tour on a Wednesday in order to enjoy the Saturday-morning market before you depart.

Tour Summary

Tour Description

Majestic Meanderings
Russan would grace any picture postcard, and enjoys a fine vantage point on the banks of the Gardon. You may or may not see water here, as the river digs deep into the limestone and runs underground in dry weather. The Castellas point offers a remarkable view over a classic U-bend that could incite vertigo in the most ardent of cliff-walkers. Further on, you walk a broad ridge that takes you along an enchanting trail en route to the day’s objective.

Treasure Trail
Whatever season you walk it, today's stage is less a hike, more an adventure. You venture deep into the gorge and discover a river-side water mill, cliff-side chapel and magnificent grotto. Then you either hug the river-bed or enjoy the unmistakable aura of the Mediterranean Garrigue.

Towards Pont du Gard
Enjoy the best of the rest of the gorge before stumbling across a disused aqueduct and varying numbers of tourists depending on the season. We'll help you get the best photos and see it from various angles. When you have got your breath back, you continue your hike in search of other hydraulic remnants en route to a fine Gard village guilty of plundering the aqueduct for domestic building purposes.