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Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge)

Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge)

Highlight • Bridge

Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge)

Recommended by 479 cyclists out of 483

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Bordeaux, Port de la Lune

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Location: New Aquitaine, France

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Top cycling routes to Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge)

4.7

(194)

1,200

riders

1. Roger Lapébie trail – Pont de Pierre loop from Sadirac

40.7km

02:20

150m

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

4.7

(47)

477

riders

2. Saint-André Cathedral – Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) loop from Bordeaux-Saint-Jean

21.5km

01:20

70m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

4.2

(21)

385

riders

3. Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) – Bordeaux Water Mirror loop from Cenon

17.9km

01:02

30m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

Tips

🕊️ 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓

July 2, 2023

The Stone Bridge connects the left bank of the Garonne (Cours Victor Hugo) to the right bank Bastide district (Avenue Thiers). It measures 487 m long and 19 m wide. It constitutes the legal boundary between the maritime domain and the river domain in the port of Bordeaux. The true meaning of the French expression "stone bridge" is "masson bridge". In fact, the bridge is built mainly of brick and not stone.
The first bridge over the Garonne in Bordeaux, the Pont de pierre was planned and designed during the First French Empire, under the orders of Napoleon I. While campaigning in Spain, he needed his troops to cross the river quickly, and the initial plan envisioned a wooden bridge, which was easier to construct. Until then, we had to cross the river by boat. Due to lack of means, construction took place subsequently, during the Bourbon Restoration, from 1819 to 1822. During these three years, the builders were faced with numerous challenges due to the strong current and the high amplitude tides, 6 m, at this point in the river. They used a diving bell borrowed from the British to stabilize the bridge piers.
The bridge has 17 arches (according to legend the number of letters in the name 'Napoléon Bonaparte'). On the sides, each pile of bricks is topped with a white medallion which must have received the number of Louis XVIII of France, a double L.
It was the only bridge in Bordeaux until the completion of the Passerelle Eiffel railway bridge in 1860 and the only road bridge until the construction of the Pont Saint-Jean (Bordeaux) in 1965. The bridge and its tide is a point important part of the Grand Gabarit Route, the logistics program transporting parts for the production of the Airbus A380.
The curiosity of the Stone Bridge lies in its interior: it is hollow, full of galleries and staircases which allow its structure and stability to be controlled. Because despite its length (nearly ½ kilometer), this structure demonstrates a certain flexibility to adapt to the movements of the Garonne, and to the loose alluvial bottoms on which it rests. Its 16 piles each rest on approximately 220 metal and wood piles (fir and Landes pine) driven into the sandy mud, themselves reinforced by a system of riprap. Its foundations are fragile and it is now threatened by various pathologies; its 500,000 bricks sag by 2 to 3 mm each year. This is why it is kept under surveillance using movement sensors and an inclinometer placed in the interior galleries. spotsfrance.com/2022/05/le-pont-de-pierre-premier-pont-de-bordeaux
Since 2016, the condition of the bridge now makes it permanently closed to traffic except for pedestrians, cyclists, trams, buses, taxis and emergency vehicles.

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PinionRadlerJan

July 2, 2023

Very nice bridge for cyclists, buses, trams and pedestrians.

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Kermit

August 21, 2022

Wonderful view of the Pont de Pierre - Bordeaux in the background.

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Location: New Aquitaine, France

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Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge)

1. Roger Lapébie trail – Pont de Pierre loop from Sadirac

2. Saint-André Cathedral – Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) loop from Bordeaux-Saint-Jean

3. Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) – Bordeaux Water Mirror loop from Cenon

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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