City of Sommières

Sommières is a very picturesque town known for its medieval center built in a “checkerboard” pattern along the Vidourle river, whose narrow streets are spanned by multiple arcades and porches, for its castle, whose high tower, accessible to visitors, dominates the city and for its famous Roman bridge so often abused during the dreaded vidourlades. The commune is indeed regularly subject to flooding during episodes of rainfall in winter, the record dates from 2002.

The bridge over the Vidourle was built in the first century by the emperor Tiberius in order to link Nîmes to Toulouse. It was initially made of more than 20 arches for a total length of more than two hundred meters. Its dimensions were thus sufficient to span the “normal” bed of the Vidourle and to ensure the connection between the two banks, in spite of the numerous floods of the capricious river.