Welcome!
The Transporter Bridge will reopen in the spring.
From April to october each year, the gondola of the Pont Transbordeur cross the river Charente and allows cyclists and pedestrians to reach both banks of Rochefort and Échillais.
​The Pont Transbordeur is open everyday from Saturday 28th of March to Sunday 1st of november 2026: ​
Buy your tickets in the ticket office on the Rochefort's bank and in the 'Maison du Transbordeur' on the Échillais' bank.
Rates:
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One-way ticket adult: 2.10 €
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Return ticket adult: 3.20 €
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Reduced rates* (return ticket and groups up to 15 people): 2.60 €
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One-way ticket children from 6 to 11: 1.50 €
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Return ticket children from 6 to 11: 2 €
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Free for children under 6
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*10 crossings Card - season 2026: 12 €
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* One month unlimimed crossings card -2026: 9 €
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*Unlimited crossings Card - season 2026: 25 €
*Cards are personnal and can't be used for many people
Maison du Transbordeur - Visitor centre
In 2003, the 'Maison du Transbordeur' (Transporter Bridge visitor centre) opened in a converted ferry boat shed, in Échillais, allowing the Transporter Bridge to become a fully-fledged tourist attraction.
Welcome to this unique visitor centre that celebrates the rich history and engineering marvel of the transporter bridge! In 2026, the Maison du Transbordeur is reinventing itself and welcomes a brand-new exhibition space retracing the history of the Transporter Bridge.
Free entrance.
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Find the opening hours of the Maison du Transbordeur in the table above.
Discover the Pont Transbordeur
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Access on Rochefort's bank:
Avenue du 11 novembre
17300 ROCHEFORT
GPS coordinates: 45.920668 -0.964045
Car parks (Parking visiteurs) are 530 metres far from the ticket office.
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Access on Echillais bank:
Car parks (Parking Pont levant)
rue du pont levant
17620 ECHILLAIS
GPS coordinates: 45.914151 -0.963780
Phone: +33 (0)5 16 84 37 28
Car parks (Parking Pont levant) are 700 metres far from the museum.
Access
Link
Leaflet
This bridge built by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin and dating from 1900 provided a way to cross the river without hindering shipping traffic. A gondola, suspended from a trolley running on rails, travels back and forth between Echillais and Rochefort. As well as the cyclists and foot passengers who use it today, it used to carry cars, carts and horses on board.
The Transporter Bridge of Rochefort is the last bridge of that kind in France.
At noon on 4 February 1967, the Transporter Bridge ceased operations.
A lift bridge replaced it to allow crossing of the Charente River. A concealed counterweight system enabled the bridge deck to be raised between the concrete piers, like a giant elevator, allowing boats to pass. The Viaduc de l’Estuaire was inaugurated in 1991 to replace the lift bridge. It provides a continuous route for road traffic, 30 metres above the Charente River.
The world of Transporter Bridges
Of the approximately twenty transporter bridges built around the world, only eight remain today:
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The Bizkaia Bridge, the world's first transporter bridge, near Bilbao (Spain),
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The Martrou Transporter Bridge at Rochefort and Echillais (France),
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The Osten-Hemmoor and Rendsburg transporter bridges (Germany),
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The three British transporter bridges in Middlesbrough, Newport and Warrington (United Kingdom),
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The Transporter Bridge of La Boca in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
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Having come together to form an association, the authorities that manage these Transporter Bridges have made a joint application to UNESCO to be listed as a World Heritage series.
