Ponts Jumeaux, Historic bridge junction in Toulouse, France.

Ponts Jumeaux is a set of three brick bridges at the Port de l'Embouchure in Toulouse, each spanning the entrance to a canal: the Canal du Midi in the centre, the Canal de Brienne to the south and the Canal latéral à la Garonne to the north. Each bridge has a basket-handle arch with a stone keystone, stone bandeau and stone parapet coping. The central bridge shows a large patch of pale plaster on its face and vegetation growing on its parapet.

Engineer Joseph-Marie de Saget designed the first two bridges in 1774, establishing the initial junction between waterways. The third bridge was added decades later during the 1800s as the canal network expanded to new regions.

The name Ponts Jumeaux, or Twin Bridges, dates from the pair built in 1771 and 1774; the third bridge added in the 19th century made the name slightly inaccurate. Between the two original arches, a Carrara marble bas-relief carved by François Lucas in 1775 shows Occitania steering a boat and ordering two genies to dig the canal.

The bridge complex is accessible by foot and bicycle, allowing visitors to explore the structure and observe boats navigating between waterways from different vantage points. You can easily move between the bridges to see how the three channels intersect and understand their flow patterns.

The Carrara marble bas-relief between the two southern bridges was carved by François Lucas in 1775. It shows Occitania at the helm of a boat marked with the Languedoc cross, ordering two spirits to dig the canal; a bearded figure personifies the Canal, and the Garonne with a cornucopia urges on a ploughman. A panorama of Toulouse, including the dome of the Chartreux, appears behind the sail.