Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) – Bordeaux Water Mirror loop from Cenon
Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) – Bordeaux Water Mirror loop from Cenon
4.3
(3)
53
riders
Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge) – Bordeaux Water Mirror loop from Cenon
02:11
36.9km
140m
Cycling
Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: June 11, 2026
Tips
Includes a segment in which cycling is not permitted
After 9.16 km for 153 m
Waypoints
Start point
Train Station
Get Directions
1.68 km
Jacques Chaban-Delmas Bridge
Highlight • Bridge
Translated by Google •
Tip by
7.39 km
Grosse Cloche of Bordeaux
Highlight • Monument
Translated by Google •
Tip by
8.23 km
Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge)
Highlight • Bridge
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.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
8.78 km
Porte Cailhau, Bordeaux
Highlight • Monument
Translated by Google •
Tip by
9.11 km
Bordeaux Water Mirror
Highlight • Monument
Translated by Google •
Tip by
9.25 km
Fountain of the Three Graces, Place de la Bourse
Highlight • Monument
Translated by Google •
Tip by
10.2 km
Grands Hommes Square
Highlight • Monument
Translated by Google •
Tip by
34.6 km
Jacques Chaban-Delmas Bridge
Highlight • Bridge
Translated by Google •
Tip by
36.9 km
End point
Train Station
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
17.6 km
8.05 km
5.26 km
3.05 km
2.63 km
297 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
27.7 km
6.40 km
2.58 km
213 m
< 100 m
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Elevation
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Weather
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Friday 3 July
34°C
17°C
0 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 14.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
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