St Benezet Bridge (Pont St-Bénézet)

‘Sur le pont d’Avignon, on y danse, on y danse …’ – this 19th-century children’s song continues to draw visitors to the famed bridge every year. Officially called Pont St-Bénézet after the shepherd Bénézet whose heavenly vision and determination caused the bridge to be built, this 900m-structure (2953ft), once spanned the two channels of the River Rhône and the island in between (Ile de la Barthelasse). Built between 1177 and January 1185, and originally made of wood, it was the only bridge linking the important trade hub, the Mediterranean and Lyon, during the Middle Ages. The bridge had to be continuously rebuilt over the centuries, but was finally washed away by the river in the mid-1600s. Today, only four of its original 22 arches and the tiny Chapelle St-Nicholas remain.