Aerial view of Bordeaux at sunset showing the historic city rooftops, the Garonne River, and the Stone Bridge with its distinctive arches — © Bordeaux and the Stone Bridge at sunset

Nighttime view of the illuminated Stone Bridge in Bordeaux spanning the Garonne River, with the historic city and landmarks in the background at dusk. — © Bordeaux's Stone Bridge glowing at sunset

A tourist cruise boat passes under Bordeaux's Stone Bridge, a red brick bridge with Gothic arches and ornamental street lamps, at sunset. — © Cruise on the Garonne River beneath Bordeaux's Stone Bridge

The illuminated Stone Bridge of Bordeaux spanning the Garonne River at night, with Saint-Michel Cathedral and historic city buildings in the background — © Bordeaux: The Stone Bridge and Saint-Michel Cathedral at twilight

Introduction Location

Pont de pierre

Connecting the left and right banks of the Garonne, commissioned by Napoleon and inaugurated in 1822, the "pont de pierre" was the first stone bridge ever built in Bordeaux.

Until then, it was necessary to cross the river by boat.
The bridge has 17 spans... which is also the number of letters in the name Napoleon Bonaparte. The "pont de pierre" was the only bridge to connect the city's historic centre on the left bank and the La Bastide district on the right bank for nearly 150 years.

Today, it is crossed by an ultramodern tramway and is one of half a dozen bridges. The "pont de pierre" nevertheless has a special place in the hearts of the Bordelais, who admire its elegance. The also scrutinise the bridge's piles to ascertain the level of the tide.

The Garonne in Bordeaux, located 100 km upstream from the Atlantic, constitutes the legal frontier between the maritime domain and the river domain. Furthermore, on windy days, you can hear the mewing of seagulls who have flown up the estuary.

The bridge « le pont de pierre » will be closed to traffic (in both directions) for two month, starting from August 1st . This is an experiment carried out in order to improve the city centre accessibility and the air quality.

This measure is likely to be extended if assessments of traffic flows, travel times and air quality are encouraging.

Pont de pierre
Entre la place Bir Hakeim et la place Stalingrad
33000 BORDEAUX