Photo: Avignon Pont St Benezet France

The picturesque Chapelle St Nicholas where Pont St Benezet spans the Rhone River at Avignon in Provence, France.

Most of us, when we were young, learned the little French song 'Sur le pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse', however historians tell us it was unlikely people could have danced on the Pont St Benezet as it was too narrow for group dancing. The original bridge crossed the two channels of the Rhone River in France divided by Ile de la Barthelasse. On the island there was a pleasure garden where picnics and folk dancing were very popular, hence the song originally was 'Sous le pont..' under the bridge.The first Chapelle St Nicholas was built on the Pont St Benezet, and the Rhone boatmen prayed there. The body of St Benezet was also interred in the Chapel. As the bridge began to disintegrate the clergy refused to hold services in the Chapel. In the 18th century a new Chapel was built on solid ground at the foot of the bridge on the Avignon side of the Rhone River in France.Only four of ... continue below the picture...

... the original twenty-two arches of Pont St Benezet remain, but visitors to the bridge and Chapelle St Nicholas can find images of the old bridges in the museum close by.Pont St Benezet and the Chapelle St Nicolas on the Rhone River, Avignon, Vaucluse, Provence, France, Europe.