When you think of Paris you may think of the croissants, the cafés, the fashion… but also perhaps the unique street architecture- the metro entrances, the lamp posts… the bridges. Not only are the Paris bridges, ‘ponts’, a practical way to move between the Rive Gauche and Rive Droite, over canals and lakes, they are emblems of the French capital, and often destinations in their own right. Here are some of the most beautiful. You can find more in my book The Architecture Lover’s Guide to Paris.
1. Pont de Bir-Hakeim, 75015
This bridge is simply stunning. Cars, pedestrians and trains share it and it’s a favourite location for films and clips with the Eiffel Tower looming in the background. The thin metal colonnades, hanging tear-drop lamps and decorations are from the beginning of the twentieth century, a period when industrialisation was a positive, even romantic, notion compared to the heavy nature of masonry. If you happen to be there at sunset when the lights of the bridge, and the Eiffel Tower flash on, your heart will skip a beat. It’s so beautiful, that I just had to tap dance on it with some friends.
2. Pont Alexandre III, 75008
This is an exquisite example of Art Nouveau elegance, built in 1900. It was the first to install electric lighting, using beautifully ornate candelabras. It also includes gilded statues of winged horses symbolising Arts, Sciences, Commerce and Industry. It is a favourite location for wedding photos and Instagrammers, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Adele crosses the deserted bridge in the music video for Someone Like You. Oh, and you can party underneath it at Showcase nightclub.
3 Pont des Arts/Passerelle des Arts, 75006
This romantic footbridge connecting the Louvre (Right Bank) to the Institut de France (Left Bank) was one of the main victims to the lovelock (padlock) craze, a sort of mass vandalism and pollution (with the keys thrown into the Seine and the bridge sagging dangerously under the weight of all that heavy commitment). The original 1802 bridge was the first metal bridge in Paris, but was rebuilt in 1984 after a barge crashed into it. It’s such an inspiring location that people have been known to have picnics, film videos, paint huge landscape paintings and propose marriage on this bridge, so be prepared to be inspired! Here’s another tap dance clip we made (directed by Elise Mc Leod).
4. Pont Neuf, 75001
Despite its name, Pont Neuf (New Bridge) was built in 1604 and is considered the oldest bridge in Paris. It was opened by Henri IV, whose statue on horseback graces the middle of
the two spans. It crosses the Seine at the western tip of the Île de la Cité, connecting the Right and Left Banks. The bridge is Romanesque, with twelve stone arches in total, and has bastions designed for pedestrians to avoid muddy splashes from passing horses and carts. The foundations are decorated with ‘mascarons’ – grotesque stone carved figures meant to deter evil. It has a colourful and violent history of street vendors, entertainers, villains and slave merchants, which continues in a very mild form today with child scammers pretending to be deaf and dumb then picking pockets of tourists who sign their fake petitions. The bridge is captured in Auguste Renoir’s masterpiece, Pont Neuf. We cross this bridge then sit underneath it in the Square Vert- Galant in this interview with sibling duo Belle Roscoe.
5 Pont de la Tournelle, 75004
Joining the Left Bank to the Île Saint- Louis, this three-arch 24m/78.7ft stone bridge was built in 1928. It offers a wonderful view of Notre-Dame, and has a 7m/23ft-high statue of Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris (by sculptor Paul Landowski, better known for his ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). I absolutely love this statue, it’s elegant, theatrical and if you can, see it at night all lit up, it’s cinematic and moody.
6. Pont de Sully, 75005
Pont de Sully has two spans, crossing from the Right Bank, over the edge of Île Saint-Louis and over to the Left Bank near the Jean Nouvel-designed Arab World Institute. When designing a walking tour from Bastille to the Grand Mosquée for my book, The Architecture Lover’s Guide to Paris, I discovered that in the middle of the two spans is the lovely Square Barye (see the Bastille – Grande Mosquée walking tour) where you access a staircase leading down to the banks of the Seine. I sat there drinking in the Autumn morning sun and gazing under the bridge. It was extremely pleasant.
7 Pont de Bercy, 75012
The Pont de Bercy is particularly eye-catching as the white and green Métro (Line 6) zips along the top of the viaducts and classic arches. There was once only a ferry here, but it became too crowded so a suspension bridge was built. The bridge was enlarged in 1906 for the Métro, then again in 1992 for more traffic, using reinforced concrete and dressed in quarry-stone facing, making it identical to the original. It’s a good example of Paris’ architectural layering with adjacent stairs leading down to the banks of the Seine.
8. Passerelle Simone-de- Beauvoir, 75012
This modern steel footbridge, named after the famous existentialist French intellectual and writer, is unique and could even been described as poetic. It curves vertically and has five points of crossing with rain shelters, connecting the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand (Left Bank) to the Parc de Bercy (Right Bank). The design was by Paris-based Austrian architect Dietmar Feichtinger and the construction was carried out by the Eiffel Company between 2004 and 2006. The 106m x 12m prefabricated steel midsection was welded in Lauterbourg, Alsace, and transported as a single component on barges via the Rhine, the North Sea and the Channel and installed in just one night. It is free of external support. We also tap danced here one summer during a heat wave. I remember literally seeing the waves of heat swirling in front of me. Afterwards we collapsed in the park on the Right Bank.
9. Bridges of Canal Saint-Martin, Canal de l’Ourcq and Canal Saint- Denis
The building of the Paris canals made a huge difference to the lives of the Parisians. Water was desperately needed both for drinking and for washing the streets as cholera and dysentery were rife. Canal Saint-Denis was completed in 1821, Canal de L’Orcq in 1822 and Canal Saint-Martin in 1825.
The canals feature many romantic arched cast iron footbridges, swinging bridges and locks that allow boats to pass through the various water levels. The most popular today is the Canal Saint-Martin. Lined by cafés, parks, hip clothing boutiques, wine bars and restaurants, with plenty of fresh street art splashing colour to the more classic architecture, the canals can be enjoyed by strolling along, munching or sipping by, or even cruising down on a boat.
The character Amélie (played by Audrey Tautou) skims rocks off one of the bridges in the 2001 film of the same name. Other films featuring the canals and their bridges include Hôtel du Nord, Les Poupées Russes, Le Grand Vadrouille and Ocean’s Twelve, as well as clips and paintings including ‘View of the Canal Saint-Martin’, an 1870 painting by impressionist Alfred Sisley.
10. The Buttes- Chaumont footbridge
This suspension bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel, crossing high over the lake in the park. When you walk over it it moves which is slightly thrilling. This is my local park and where I go jogging. Often at the end of the my jog I’ll cross the footbridge and head up to the Temple of Sibyl , named after the Greek oracle. One of my favourite spots for contemplation- recently features also in the series Lupin.
Read more about the bridges of Paris in my book The Architecture Lover’s Guide to Paris, now available. www.rubytv.net/books Follow me on instagram or facebook for more pics and new. A bientôt.
