Sur le pont d’Avignon…In 1177, as the story goes, a young shepherd by the name of Bénézet came down from the mountains of the Ardeche. He claimed to have been sent by God to build a bridge across the Rhône in Avignon.Mocked by the people of Avignon, the shepherd rose to the challenge they set him: to lift an enormous boulder onto his shoulders and throw it into the river. The citizens of Avignon were amazed when the young shepherd managed this superhuman feat, and a committee was formed to help him build the bridge.The Pont Saint-Bénezet, apart from being the oldest structure on the Rhône between Lyon and the sea, is also famous as the "Pont d’Avignon" of the song Sur le pont d’Avignon. Today only four of the arches remain, along with the Tour Phillippe le Bel, which is a magnificent monument in its own right.