After the Marathon d'Avignon: Nîmes and Pont du Gard

The Route: Avignon Centre → Nîmes → Pont du Gard (optional extension) → Avignon Logistics: Direct TER to Nîmes. Pont du Gard is not on the rail network; reach it by regional bus, car or an organised tour from either city. Marathon Month: September Duration: Day trip

Avignon Centre ──(TER, ~30 mins)──> Nîmes ──(bus / car / tour, ~30 mins)──> Pont du Gard
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Avignon ◄──(car / tour, ~25 mins, or via Nîmes and TER)──────────────────────────────┘

Avignon's own marathon route runs past a papal palace rather than a Roman one, but the wider region west of the city was Roman territory long before it was papal, and Nîmes carries more of that inheritance in better physical condition than almost anywhere else in France. Pont du Gard, the aqueduct bridge that once carried water toward the city, sits between the two and makes a natural add-on for anyone willing to arrange transport beyond the rail network for a single stop.

September west of Avignon carries the same character as the city itself: warm, dry, past the peak of high-summer heat but still comfortably outdoor-friendly, with none of the narrow seasonal windows that apply to, say, a specific flowering period elsewhere in the region. Both Nîmes' Roman sites and the Pont du Gard site operate on a normal visitor schedule at this time of year, without a summer-only closure to plan around.

The direct TER from Avignon Centre to Nîmes takes around 30 minutes, a straightforward rail hop with no transfer required. Pont du Gard itself is not served by rail at all; reaching it means a regional bus connection, a car, or an organised tour departing from Avignon or Nîmes. Check current SNCF Connect timetables for the train leg and the regional bus network or a tour operator directly for the Pont du Gard leg, since neither schedule should be assumed to hold from one season to the next.

Nîmes: the Roman city

The Arènes de Nîmes, a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre, is arguably better preserved than its Arles counterpart and remains in occasional use for events today, its tiered stone seating walkable much as it would have been in antiquity. A short walk away, the Maison Carrée, a nearly complete Roman temple dating to around the turn of the millennium, stands as one of the best-preserved Roman temples anywhere in the former empire, its proportions intact in a way that gives a genuinely different sense of Roman architecture than the amphitheatre's arena-scale engineering does. Entry to the two sites is typically available as a combined ticket; check current pricing at nimes-tourisme.com before travelling.

Between the two, the Jardins de la Fontaine, an 18th-century formal garden built around the city's Roman-era spring, offers a flatter, gentler stretch of walking than either monument, with shaded paths and stone balustrades that make a reasonable rest point in the middle of a day otherwise built around standing and walking on uneven ancient stone.

Pont du Gard, if the day allows it

The Pont du Gard is the standout structure of the whole day if time and transport allow the detour: a three-tiered Roman aqueduct bridge, the tallest of its kind still standing, built to carry water some 50 km from a spring near Uzès to Nîmes. It is not part of Nîmes itself and needs its own leg of the journey, whether by regional bus, a hired car, or an organised tour that bundles the site in with Nîmes or directly from Avignon. The riverside setting beneath the bridge is genuinely worth the extra effort: a wide gravel bank along the Gardon river gives a clear view up at the full three-tier structure, and swimming in the river below is a popular local activity when the weather allows it, September included.

Because this leg needs transport beyond the rail network, it works best as a deliberate choice rather than something added on impulsively partway through the Nîmes visit; decide before leaving Avignon whether the day includes Pont du Gard or stays within Nîmes itself, and book any tour or confirm the bus timetable accordingly.

Getting back

If the day stayed within Nîmes, return to Avignon Centre on the same direct TER line, around 30 minutes, with services running through the evening. If Pont du Gard was included, the return route depends on how it was reached: a tour typically returns to its own departure point, while a self-driven visit allows a direct road return to Avignon in around 25 minutes without needing to route back through Nîmes at all. Check the current timetable or tour schedule before setting out either way.