Pont d'Arc

The Pont d'Arc is a natural stone bridge flung across the Ardèche River at the entrance to the Ardèche Gorges in southern France. The arch spans about 59 metres and rises some 34 metres above the water — and it is unusual in carrying a living river beneath it rather than standing over a dry valley. It is often called the gateway to the gorges, and it has been a protected natural site since 1931, now within the Gorges de l'Ardèche nature reserve.

It formed through the slow work of water on limestone. The Ardèche once looped around this rock spur in a wide meander; over tens of thousands of years it dissolved and wore its way through the neck of the spur, creating a shortcut and leaving the arch above. The abandoned riverbed can still be traced nearby in the Combe d'Arc. Arches like this are fleeting on a geological timescale, and few survive at such a size.

The landscape here holds another treasure. In the cliffs close by lies the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave, with painted and engraved animals some 30,000 years old — among the oldest known cave art in the world. Today the river beneath is busy with canoes and kayaks starting their descent of the gorges, and the pale stone framing the green water makes one of the best-known views in France.

Getting there

The arch lies on the D290 Route des Gorges, about 5 km from the village of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. A car park, Parking du Pont d'Arc – Belvédère, overlooks the arch, and a footpath of about 900 metres leads down to the river beach below. The nearest larger town is Bagnols-sur-Cèze, about 29 km away; the nearest airport is Nîmes-Arles-Camargue (FNI), about 69 km away.