Despite its name, the Pont Neuf (New Bridge) is the oldest bridge across the Garonne in Toulouse. Its seven brick and stone arches took almost a century to build, from the 1540s to 1632, and the clever openings in its piers helped it become the only bridge in the city to survive the great flood of 1875.
The Pont Neuf at a glance
- Where: across the Garonne between Place du Pont-Neuf on the right bank and the Saint-Cyprien district on the left
- Built: 1544–1632; inaugurated by King Louis XIV in 1659
- By: begun by Toulouse master builders, including the Renaissance architect Nicolas Bachelier, and completed by the Parisian architect Jacques Lemercier
- What it is today: a busy road and pedestrian bridge, about 220 metres long, and a classic viewpoint over the river
- Time needed: 15 minutes to walk across, longer to take in the views from the quays
A century of floods and foundations
The capitouls, the consuls who ran Toulouse, wanted a large bridge over the Garonne from the late 15th century, and King Francis I backed the idea for strategic reasons, with Charles V's Spain looking threatening to the south. In 1541 he allowed a special tax to fund it. The first pier, close to the left bank, went up quickly in 1544 under Nicolas Bachelier, but violent floods and the unstable riverbed made the rest of the work painfully slow. The first arch was only started in 1614.
Jacques Lemercier, who also worked on the Louvre in Paris, finished the job at the beginning of the 17th century. Like the Pont Neuf in Paris, it was a new kind of bridge: a clear deck without the houses and shops that crowded medieval bridges. It opened to traffic in 1632 and was officially inaugurated by Louis XIV in 1659. In June 1875 the Garonne rose so high that it swept away every other bridge in Toulouse and some 1,400 houses; only the Pont Neuf stood.
What to look for
- The round openings, or oculi, cut through the piers above the water: they let floodwater pass through instead of pushing against the bridge.
- The pointed cutwaters on the piers, which split the current, an idea borrowed from Roman bridges.
- The asymmetry: the left bank is several metres lower than the right, so the arches are not all the same, and the widest is the third from the right bank.
- The warm pink brick, the typical building material of the Ville Rose, set against pale stone.
- The left-bank end, where a triumphal arch with an equestrian statue of Louis XIII stood from 1642 until it was demolished in 1860.
The lion in the piers
The openings through the piers are said to have been designed to suggest the face and mane of a lion, a touch of Renaissance fantasy on a work of hard engineering. Whether or not you see the lion, look at the bridge from water level on the quays: the rows of openings give the whole structure its light, rhythmic look.
Tips for your visit
- Come at sunset and watch from the Quai de la Daurade or the Prairie des Filtres, when the brick turns deep orange.
- At night the bridge is lit up and reflected in the Garonne, a favourite photo for locals.
- The pavements are narrow and traffic is heavy, so stop to take photos at the ends rather than in the middle of the flow.
- On summer evenings the riverbanks below fill with people sitting by the water; join them for the best view of the arches.
Nearby
- Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques: the former hospital on the left bank by the bridge, part of the UNESCO-listed Routes of Santiago de Compostela.
- Château d'Eau: a 19th-century water tower at the left end of the bridge, now a photography gallery.
- Prairie des Filtres: a large riverside park on the left bank, with open lawns and views back across to the city.
- Quai de la Daurade: the right-bank quayside steps and gardens below the Basilica of La Daurade, a few minutes' walk away.
See Toulouse with World City Trail
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If you prefer a different format, Toulouse also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
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Facts checked in October 2026.