Avignon Bridge, a few strides above the Rhône

Twenty-two arches to cross the river

Begun in the late 12th century, the bridge stretched for around 920 metres and had twenty-two arches. It crossed a Rhône divided into several branches, around islands whose outlines changed with the floods. During the papal period, it linked the city of the popes to a right bank under the authority of the King of France, where the Tour Philippe-le-Bel controlled the other entrance.

Its narrow deck allowed people to cross on foot or horseback, but not in carts. Ferries and boats therefore continued to carry travellers and goods between the banks. Pedestrians, riders and livestock were charged a toll that helped pay for the bridge’s upkeep.

This income was not always enough: floods damaged the piers and required fresh repairs. In the 17th century, rebuilding ceased. The four surviving arches represent only a small part of the structure that once crossed the river.

Bénézet, the shepherd behind the bridge

Legend tells of a young shepherd named Bénézet who came to Avignon announcing that God had ordered him to build a bridge. Faced with the townspeople’s disbelief, he is said to have lifted a stone that several men could not move. The Œuvre du Pont grew around him, collecting donations to build and then maintain the bridge.

Bénézet died in 1184 and was buried on the bridge. His tomb drew pilgrims, and a chapel was built to house his relics. Devotion to him developed without formal canonisation; Pope John XXII officially recognised his sainthood.

Two chapels, one above the other, over the Rhône

From the deck, a narrow staircase leads down to Saint-Bénézet Chapel, set into the pier. The river flows close to its walls. Inside, the nave leads to a Romanesque apse whose arcades rest on slender columns. Pilgrims once came here to pray beside the tomb.

Above it, Saint-Nicolas Chapel opens at deck level. Altered during the Middle Ages, it retains a ribbed vault and a small chancel lit by a side window. Near the entrance, the Virgin and Child of Notre-Dame des Nautoniers faces the altar.

Saint Nicholas, patron saint of boatmen, and Notre-Dame des Nautoniers recall the dangers of navigating the Rhône. The river’s boatmen came to place their journeys under their protection.

From the bridge tomb to Saint-Didier Church

When the bridge fell into ruin, Bénézet’s relics were moved to the Célestins Church in 1674. They later reached the collegiate church of Saint-Didier, in central Avignon, where the saint’s recumbent effigy is displayed today. The lower chapel preserves the memory of this pilgrimage.

“Sur le pont d’Avignon”

The song carried Avignon’s name far beyond the Rhône. Its popularity grew in 1853, when the composer Adolphe Adam used the tune in Le Sourd ou l’Auberge pleine, performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. As a children’s round, it has people dancing on a bridge whose deck was mainly used for crossing. A local tradition places the dances on the riverbanks and islands instead; the tune’s exact origins remain uncertain.

At the end of the bridge, facing the Rhône

At the end of the deck, the walk stops above the current. The banks of the Barthelasse stretch out ahead; beyond the river, the Tour Philippe-le-Bel marks the Villeneuve bank. The distance between the banks conveys the scale of the medieval crossing.

Walking back towards Avignon, you pass the chapels again, then the gatehouse in front of the ramparts. The Palais des Papes and the Rocher des Doms rise above the city.

Continue your getaway around the Rhône

Above the bridge, the paths of the Rocher des Doms garden lead to viewpoints over the river and its two branches. On the island of the Barthelasse, the towpath offers a broad view of the bridge and the city of the popes.

On the right bank, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon extends the visit around the Tour Philippe-le-Bel, which once guarded the bridge’s western entrance, then towards the Chartreuse and Fort Saint-André.