City of more than 10 500 inhabitants in the Gard, at the crossroads of Drôme, Ardèche and the Vaucluse, Pont-Saint-Esprit takes place in the heart of Occitan, in the district of Nîmes. You will enjoy visiting its monuments, strolling along the Rhone but also enjoy the "Provence alleys" and their cafes and restaurants
With a rich history, including religious and military, even today, Pont-Saint-Esprit is a tourist stopover on the road to the gorges of Ardeche in the heart of Provence Occitan and can attract many visitors because of its rich heritage architectural and historical (not less than 16 listed monuments), and its proximity to some of the most beautiful sites in the region.
Along more than 900 meters, the medieval bridge of the Holy Spirit was built between the late thirteenth century and early fourteenth. The building, impressive, reveals twenty-five arches and is the oldest of all bridges on the Rhone. Its construction was commissioned by the brother of St. Louis, the Count Poitiers and Toulouse, and is the work of the priest branch of the Hospitallers.
Built in the fifteenth century, the Saint-Saturnin church has a Gothic building a little degraded, and a beautiful Gothic tower terrace. The interior was renovated in the late 2000s.
The priory Saint-Pierre is regularly used for exhibitions and artistic events. Built in the twelfth century and significantly modified in the eighteenth century, it reveals a dome and a bell tower topped with a campanile wrought iron, also with a classical facade with pilasters and niches. You can climb on the roof, from where one can have a breathtaking view over the city, participating in guided tours summer by the municipality.
Walking through the city, you can also discover the old chapel of the Penitents of the seventeenth century, the unique laundry that got the price of "Heritage Tapes" or the Citadel and the collegiate fourteenth (the latter may visit through organized tours summer and during Heritage Days).
The Sacred Art Museum of the Gard takes place in the house of the twelfth century Knights. You can admire various collections and beautiful painted ceilings. Do not miss to enjoy the backbone of the royal court of high justice over eight meters.
Pont-Saint-Esprit also reveals its streets fountains navigation and Cocq, a former fire completely restored ("The Cazerne") and became a place of life and an associative place of bourgeois homes from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, the monastery Notre Dame de la Blache and his neo-Gothic chapel, or the plane of the bastide de la Bruyère, the highest in Europe with its fifty-five meters.
The market is held every Saturday morning. A night market is held every Wednesday in the summer. A market and a Christmas living room are offered in December.
In early September, place the votive festival with a large fun fair and entertainment.
In September and in March two popular fairs are organized.
Several festivals and exhibitions are also held throughout the year: "Fanfa'Rhône" festival (bands) in August, the end of the photo lounge September a salon painters and sculptors in October, the book festival November and two film festivals.
Moreover, the city has a municipal theater, the scene (in the former chapel of the Penitents) with two shows per month (theater, comedy, song, jazz) and was four to five concerts are held outdoors as well as open-air cinema.
Website inescapable: the circuit of the Ardèche gorges, beaches, the descent of the river by canoe, fabulous caves (Saint-Marcel, Madeleine, Orgnac, the Pont d'Arc cave, Chauvet 2...). Also gorges Cèze, waterfalls Sautadet and canoe descent of the Gardon gorges.
A tree climbing park "Hang Adventures" is about 10 minutes as well as a park "rollers".
The farm Crocodile and his huge playground is about 20 minutes.
The Pont du Gard and its sound and light summer in less than an hour, as is the beautiful town of Uzes.
To enjoy the beauty of Provence including the wonders of the Luberon, there you will have to go a little over an hour away.
The Camargue, unique ecosystem, the exceptional site of Aigues-Mortes and the beaches of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Le Grau-du-Roi are only an hour and a half drive.