Les Ponts de la Seine -- Bridges of the Seine | Paris Travel

The Seine River, headed west and downstream out of Paris.

Our Silver Paris

Welcome to my Paris travel journal,

where I share our experiences of our special journey to Paris.

Please use these posts as a guide for your own travels

to this amazing and wonderful city!

Or simply read, and dream...

Before I write my final Paris Travel post, I wanted to revisit this one subject.  Images of the Seine River are sprinkled throughout several different posts, but I have gathered them all here in one post.  Not all of the bridges are romantic, and I don't have images of every single bridge along the Seine in Paris, but I'm going to post the ones I have, for you and me both to enjoy.

I'll start at la tour Eiffel, and make my way east (generally) along the Seine (which would be upriver).

When you visit Paris, you'll need a good map to help you spot the bridges, and also just to get around--I recommend one from Streetwise Maps. (Mine is a 2012 map; ISBN 978-093503925-2, about $8 US.)

From the top of the Eiffel Tower, you can see many of the bridges along the Seine in Paris!  At the time we were there, however, I didn't think about documenting all those bridges. I was having too much fun just being there with my honey, sipping our champagne and enjoying the incredible view.

Here is an image showing the bridges west, downstream and away from Paris:

From the first bridge toward the bottom of the image: 

Pont de Bir Hakeim,

a Métro bridge (at an angle in the center, crossing the Allée des Cygnes,

and pont de Grenelle.

And that is where I run out of map and bridge names.  :)

The same bridges during our descent to the third level.

From the base of le tour Eiffel, this bridge, pont d'Iena, leads you to the Trocadéro with its pools, fountains, and museums. 

Pont d'Iena.

Passage Debilly (a pedestrian bridge) on the left and pont de l'Alma on the right. 

Spot passage Debilly (the pedestrian bridge in the extreme lower left corner),
then go east (toward the right) and find
pont de l'Alma,
pont des Invalides,
pont Alexandre III (with the four gold-topped pillars),
and pont de la Concorde.

Here is where my photo tour begins in earnest:  Pont Alexandre III in all its glory.  :)

Here is an aerial view of this spectacular bridge, taken from the top of the Eiffel Tower:

From left to right:  pont des Invalides, pont Alexandre III and pont de la Concorde.

Pont Alexandre III as seen from street level.

Pont Alexandre III as seen from our boat on the Seine.

Detail of pont Alexandre III from boat level.

One of the columns on pont Alexandre III. 

After pont Alexandre III comes pont de la Concorde, then passage Solferino (another pedestrian bridge), neither of which I captured at all.  The next bridge we come to is pont Royal, below.

Pont Royal.

Continuing east, we encounter another pedestrian bridge, pont des Arts.

Pont des Arts.

Next, we come to pont Neuf, the point where the Seine River splits to flow on either side of two islands, Ile de la Cité and Ile St. Louis.

Pont Neuf (northern side).

Now I'll try not to be too confusing here, as the the bridges abound at this point.  :)
After pont Neuf, heading east, the next set of bridges that cross the Seine are:

• From the Rive Droite (Right Bank, or north side on our left) to Ile de la Cité -- pont au Change
• From Ile de la Cité to the Rive Gauche (Left Bank, on our right)-- pont St. Michel (I don't have a picture, boo)

Pont au Change is noted for its "N," which stands for Napoleon.

Pont au Change

Still heading east, the next set of bridges are:

• From the Rive Droite to Ile de la Cité -- pont Notre Dame
• From Ile de la Cité to the Rive Gauche -- petit Pont (no image, double boo)

  pont Notre Dame

Pont Notre Dame, as seen on our boat tour with a sunstar.

The next set of bridges are:

• From the Rive Droite to Ile de la Cité -- pont d'Arcole
• From Ile de la Cité to the Rive Gauche -- pont au Double

 

The bridge with the railing is pont d'Arcole (then pont Notre Dame and pont au Change beyond).

Detail of pont au Double.

Where the two islands meet in the river, a series of three bridges cross:

• From the Rive Droite to Ile St. Louis -- pont Louis Philippe
• From Ile St. Louis to Ile de la Cité -- pont St. Louis
• From Ile de la Cité to the Rive Gauche -- pont Archèveché

First, pont Louis Philippe, in shadow.  Not the best way to capture the bridge, but that wasn't the focus of this image.  :)

Pont Louis Philippe.

I did take a picture of pont St. Louis, but it won't show too much detail.  We were sampling our first taste of Berthillon ice cream (read about that here), and pont St. Louis was behind us, with Notre Dame peeking out way in the back.

I have several images for pont Archèveché, so please enjoy this interesting bridge!  A legend began not too long ago, that lovers write their names on a padlock, then attach that padlock to the fenced railing along this bridge.  By doing this, the lovers would seal their love and be together forever.

Standing on pont Archèveché, looking at la cathédrale de Notre Dame.

The next set of bridges cross over Ile St. Louis:

• From the Rive Droite to Ile St. Louis -- pont Marie
• From Ile St. Louis to the Rive Gauche -- pont de la Tournelle

Pont Marie has a special place in my heart, for it is the first Seine bridge that we saw on our first evening walk from our appartement to the Seine River.  I will never forget the wonder when we crossed the last street and stood there above the Seine, looking out on a beautifully illuminated bridge, and all the bridges and lights beyond.

Pont Marie, and my first view of the Seine River.

Detail of pont Marie.

Now, here is pont de la Tournelle on the other side.

Pont de la Tournelle.

Pont de la Tournelle.

 

You can barely see pont de la Tournelle; my own focus falls on the illuminated tour Eiffel shining above it, just about in the center of the image.

The last bridge of my photo tour crosses Ile St. Louis on both sides of the river; This is pont de Sully.

Underside of pont de Sully.  

Thanks for taking this long tour with me!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Place des Vosges and Victor Hugo's Home | Paris Travel

Windows in a building in place des Vosges.

 

Our Silver Paris

Welcome to my Paris travel journal,

where I share our experiences of our special journey to Paris.

Please use these posts as a guide for your own travels

to this amazing and wonderful city!

Or simply read, and dream...

Our last day in Paris dawned bright and clear, with a promise to be the perfect last day for this couple, still in love after 25 years. We had done so many things all week long, and even though we took our time with each and every walk, tour, and visit, we were tired.  Things worked out that we had ventured farther out from our appartement in le Marais at the beginning of our week, and gradually moved closer with each day we spent in Paris.

We were thankful we didn't have to walk too far on this morning.  I wasn't sure about venturing out without my sweater, but after several minutes, I realized that it would be warm enough to enjoy the  soon-to-be 70-degree day with uncovered arms.

On rue de Birague, looking into a building archway, and beyond.

The archway (and beyond!) was our goal for the morning.

Through the arch, and on the other side, we stood in place des Vosges.  I looked back toward the arch in the building and took a picture.

Then I looked around the place, which was the first planned square in Paris, and where jousts, tournaments, and historic events once took place.

Statue of Louis XIII on the north side of place des Vosges.

Rather than writing out what was written on the statue, or trying to translate and remember what it said, I simply took a picture.

This statue

work of Dupaty and Cortot

raised the 4th of November 1829

replaced

the old (ancient) statue of bronze

erected in 1639

I love, love, love the below image I captured of one of the fountains in the place, with the water droplets in the air, and people relaxing on the lawn and strolling on the path.

Here is a description of the place from one of our walking-tour books:

The square was built in 1600-1608, as a country retreat for Henry IV and his courters.  There are nine houses on each side of the square, the two tallest being the King's Pavilion to the south and the Queen's Pavilion over on the north side...  Victor Hugo lived here.  The house at No. 6 is now the Victor Hugo museum and it can be visited free of charge.  ~Frommer's 24 Great Walks in Paris, p. 27 (ISBN 978-0-470-22897-5).

Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris, and is perfectly symmetrical in shape.  Although the lawn was packed with people with blankets spread out, eating lunch, talking, or simply relaxing on a beautiful Saturday morning, it was a beautiful and peaceful place to stroll, whether on its square tree-lined path, or underneath the viaducts of the buildings along the edge of the place.  These viaducts, or arcades, house a variety of shops, galleries, and cafés, if you're in the mood to shop and/or eat.

Under the arcades along the buildings at place des Vosges.

As our walking-tour book said, the Victor Hugo museum is located here, and is free of charge (there is a small fee for the audio tour, if you want to purchase it).  He wrote his work Les Misérables while living here.

Maison de Victor Hugo, No. 6, place des Vosges, Paris.

We were all ready for free, and figured we would enjoy wandering through the appartement to see a little of how Hugo's home may have looked while he lived there.  Here are a few images from inside the home.

Back out in the place, we enjoyed the rest of our morning strolling, people-watching, and picture-taking.

• Nearest Métro station:  Bastille (lines 1, 5, and 8)
• Cost:  free
• What to look for:  Grassy lawn with fountains, great for spreading a blanket and having a picnic lunch; tree-lined walkway around the place with benches for relaxing; the Victor Hugo Museum (free; closed Mondays); walking under the viaducts (arcades) to explore a variety of shops, galleries, and cafés.
• Combine with:  place de la Bastille, or window-shopping along rue du Pont Louis Philippe.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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