Pont Napoléon & Gorges de Luz
Straddling a 68-metre-deep gorge carved by the Gave de Pau just north of Luz, the Pont Napoléon is one of the most audacious pieces of 19th-century civil engineering in the Pyrenees — a single-arch stone bridge commissioned by Napoleon III in 1860 and completed in a jaw-dropping location that most visitors drive straight past without stopping.
The Bridge & the Gorge
The bridge spans the Gorges de Luz, a narrow limestone slot canyon where the Gave de Pau has cut 68 metres straight down through the rock. Standing on the parapet and looking down at the turquoise river threading between vertical walls is a genuine vertigo moment.
Napoleon III had the bridge built partly for strategic military access to Spain via the Tourmalet pass, and partly because Empress Eugénie was fond of the thermal spas at Saint-Sauveur. He reportedly never used it himself — the bridge was finished after his political fortunes had turned.
The Gorge Walk
A signed footpath descends from the bridge down into the gorge itself, following the river for about 2 km through a cool, cathedral-like canyon where the walls close to just a few metres apart. The light at midday turns the water an impossible shade of green-blue.
The path is easy and flat once you reach the gorge floor, suitable for all fitness levels. It ends at a small shingle beach where the gorge opens out — a perfect picnic spot that sees a fraction of the crowds at Gavarnie.
Return the same way or loop back via the D921 road on the opposite bank for a different perspective on the bridge from below.
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