Les Ponts - Paris

Le Pont Neuf

The birth of the Pont-neuf

The Pont-Neuf is undoubtedly the most famous bridge in Paris, but also the oldest, and for good reason: it was built between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century.

The oldest bridge in Paris, the third longest bridge (238 metres), the first stone bridge crossing the Seine, the first bridge to be empty of houses and equipped with pavements... The Pont Neuf was a real innovation for Paris. Since then, it has kept the name it was originally given in the 17th century because of its specific features. The construction was decided in 1577 by King Henry III, who appointed a commission to ensure the smooth running of the work. A year later, the first stone of the bridge was laid by the king himself, in the presence of the queen mother Catherine de Médicis and the king's wife, Louise de Lorraine. Work continued until 1588, under the reign of Henry IV, but then stopped abruptly for ten years because of the popular uprisings in Paris against the king. In 1599, construction finally resumed and was completed in 1607.

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Extraordinary architecture

Its magnificent stone architecture, made up of 12 arches each adorned with a semi-circular balcony, offers us a splendid setting worthy of a postcard with the Ile de la Cité in the background.

Its history and its architecture have allowed it to be classified as a Historic Monument since 1889, while its aesthetics have inspired a host of renowned painters and artists such as Auguste Renoir who, in 1872, made a work of it entitled "Le Pont Neuf », now visible at the National Gallery Of Art in Washington.
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Other Bridges

Le pont Saint Louis

The Saint-Louis bridge, 67 meters long and 16 meters wide, was built in 1970 by engineers Coste and Long-Depaquit and engineers Creuzot and Jabouille. It has a single span of a great sobriety, reserved for pedestrians but can exceptionally allow cars to pass.It connects the western tip of Île Saint-Louis to the east of Île de la Cité near Square Jean XXIII and Square de l' Ile-de-France .

Imagined by the architects Jabouille and Creuzot then carried out by the engineers Long-Depaquit and Coste, this beam bridge, all in steel, was started in 1969 and finished in 1970 under the project management of the City of Paris1. Since 2014 , it is closed to all motorized traffic and reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.It is very popular with tourists, and street artists often bring it to life in summer.

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Le Pont de Notre Dame

The Notre-Dame bridge is a bridge located in Paris and crossing the large arm of the Seine, connecting the quai de Gesvres to the quai de la Corse on the île de la Cité. The current bridge, built in 1853, during the Haussmannian transformations, is 105 m long and 20 m wide, its five initial arches having been reduced to three in 1912, including a central metallic arch of 60 m.

It was in its place that the first bridge in Paris, called Grand-Pont, crossed the Seine on its large arm from Antiquity, in the extension of the Petit-Pont. In 886, the siege of Paris and the Norman attacks on condemned, and it was replaced by a plank bridge, aptly named Pont des Planches de Milbray, which held up until the floods of 1406.
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Le Pont Saint-Michel

This bridge, originally built in 1378, was rebuilt several times, most recently in 1857. Before the middle of the 19th century, it came out on the left bank side on the Place du Pont-Saint-Michel and on the side of the island of the City on rue de la Barillerie.

It owes its name to the vicinity of the former Saint-Michel du Palais chapel which existed in the Royal Palace. For many centuries, Paris was structured between the City and the left bank. Also, the Saint Michel bridge represented From the 14th century, the second crossing point on the Seine at the level of the small arm. It was decided by the Parliament of Paris in 1353, which then sat at the level of the Palace, in consultation with the powerful chapter of Notre Dame de Paris, the provost, who directed the police at the Châtelet.This first bridge, in stone, was built between 1379 and 1387, in the axis of the rue Saint Denis, located on the right bank.Small new bridge, as opposed to the small bridge located slightly further upstream, then Pont Saint Michel!

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