Pont St-Bénézet

According to legend, pastor Bénézet had three saintly visions urging him to build a bridge across the Rhône. Known to countless kids as the Pont d’Avignon from the chirpy French rhyme, it was completed in 1185 and linked Avignon with Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, controlling trade at this vital crossroads. It was rebuilt several times before all but four of its spans were washed away in the mid-1600s. If you don’t feel like paying to visit the bridge, you can see it for free from the Rocher des Doms park, Pont Édouard Daladier or from across the river on the Île de la Barthelasse’s chemin des Berges.