Pont-Vieux, Medieval bridge in Carcassonne, France
The Pont Vieux spans the Aude River with twelve stone arches measuring 739 feet in length between the lower town and medieval fortress.
Dating from 1320, the bridge replaced a wooden structure and functioned as the sole connection between Bastide Saint Louis and the Medieval City until 1800s.
The structure represents medieval engineering techniques with its varying arch dimensions ranging from 33 to 46 feet across the water passage.
The bridge operates exclusively as a pedestrian path, offering direct access between the residential district and the fortified medieval section of Carcassonne.
Two arches of the bridge collapsed in 1436 and underwent repairs, while additional modifications occurred in 1559 to strengthen the structure.
Location: Carcassonne
Address: rue du Pont-Vieux
GPS coordinates: 43.21018,2.35894
Latest update: June 23, 2025 09:48
The region around Carcassonne features an area marked by medieval and Cathar history, with castles, abbeys, and old villages. The Cité of Carcassonne displays its city walls restored in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, while the Canal du Midi has traversed the region for 240 kilometers since the 17th century. The castles of Quéribus and Peyrepertuse overlook the landscape from their rocky spurs at over 700 meters above sea level, serving as the last strongholds of the Cathar resistance in the 13th century. Villages like Minerve and Lagrasse showcase medieval architecture, with narrow streets, ancient bridges, and Benedictine abbeys. The region also includes the four Lastours castles aligned along a ridge, the Saint-Maurice Cathedral in Mirepoix with its 22-meter-wide Gothic nave, and natural sites like Lake Cavayère. These monuments and landscapes form a representative ensemble of the south of France’s historical and natural heritage, accessible from Carcassonne.
Cité de Carcassonne
573 m
Château comtal de Carcassonne
493 m
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne
415 m
Église Saint-Gimer de Carcassonne
410 m
Musée de l'inquisition
517 m
Porte d'Aude
434 m
Notre-Dame-de-Santé
74 m
Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Abbaye de Carcassonne
534 m
Théâtre Jean-Alary
526 m
Old town hall of Carcassonne
534 m
Mercury
415 m
Hôtel de Rolland
521 m
Portail des Jacobins
526 m
Musée lapidaire de Carcassonne
466 m
Musée-trésor de Notre-Dame-de-l'Abbaye de Carcassonne
527 m
Bastion de Montmorency
324 m
Petit faune
547 m
Grand Puits
527 m
Chapelle des Dominicaines de Carcassonne
489 m
Manufacture royale de draps
161 m
Hôtel de Pelletier
360 m
Palais de la Micheline
435 m
Hôtel de Murat
367 m
Groupe scolaire Jean-Jaurès
400 m
Maison Courtial
502 m
Chapelle du Petit Saint-Gimer de Carcassonne
423 m
Bains-douches de Carcassonne
388 m
Fresque murale du Château de Carcassonne
476 mReviews
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