Paris by Night Cruise - Bridges of Paris - Part I

Sail Through the “City of Light”:

See Paris in all its illuminated glory as you drift along the Seine River on a leisurely night cruise. View the city’s famous monuments, such as the Louvre, the Musée D’Orsay and the Grand Palais, and see the imposing Conciergerie—once part of the Palais de la Cité and a former courthouse and prison that housed Marie Antoinette. Your leisurely cruise is one of the most relaxing ways to see the sights along the Banks of the Seine River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, including the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral, which is currently being restored after a fire ravaged the centuries-old building. Admire the illuminated bridges as you glide through the heart of the French capital awash in a glow of twinkling lights. Finally, at the tour’s end, marvel at the brilliant Eiffel Tower, whose beacon shines over the Paris skyline from its iconic spire.

After a farewell toast and one last enjoyable dinner, Tim and I stepped aboard the boat that was tied up next to us for a cruise on the Seine River. On my first visit to Paris, oh so many years ago, I took an evening cruise on a Bateaux-Mouche. It was a wonderful way to see Paris at night, and I was looking forward to tonight’s cruise as well.

Starter - Norwegian Baby Shrimp Cocktail, Main Course - Rôti de Porc au Four, Dessert - Beignets aux Pommes

Almost as soon as we were underway, I moved outside to the front of the boat for better views and, hopefully, better photographs. Sailing on the Seine is still a wonderful way to experience Paris, and the many historic bridges that span the river are true works of art.

Twenty-three of the city’s bridges – from the Pont d’Iéna at the Eiffel Tower to the Pont de Sully near Notre-Dame Cathedral – are included in the Paris Banks of the Seine UNESCO World Heritage Site.

All of the Bridges We Passed Under on our Cruise

We had wonderful light as we started out, and as we made our turn just past the Île Saint-Louis, we started to get a wonderful sunset. Many of the bridges were illuminated, and the effect was magical.

When I first started writing this post, I couldn’t decide how to make sense of all the photographs I had taken. I finally decided to focus just on the many bridges of Paris and create a collage for each one. Since we made a round trip, I included images of each bridge on the way up and the way back in the same collage. Otherwise, the images are in the order in which we passed the bridges.

As the sky finally darkened, the quality of the photographs deteriorated, but I decided to include them anyway, so I’d have a record of every bridge. There were 25 bridges, so I’ve broken the post into two parts. This post is really for me, and the number of images is a bit overwhelming, so you might want to skip to the next post if bridges aren’t as interesting to you as they are to me! Here we go!

Pont de Bir-Hakeim was constructed between 1903 and 1905 and has two levels. The lower level is for motor vehicles and pedestrians, while the upper is a viaduct for the Paris Metro. The lower bridge is decorated with cast iron sculptures.

Pont de Bir-Hakeim 

Pont d’Iéna originally opened in 1814, linking the Eiffel Tower with the Trocadéro. It is decorated with imperial eagles.

Pont d’Iéna

Passerelle Debilly is an arched pedestrian bridge constructed for the 1900 Paris Exposition.

Passerelle Debilly

Pont de l’Alma was constructed in the 1970s, replacing a nineteenth century bridge. Only The Zouave statue from the original bridge was retained.

Pont de l’Alma

Pont des Invalides, the lowest bridge across the Seine, was constructed for the 1855 Paris Exposition, reusing piers from an earlier bridge. The piers are adorned with allegorical figures and military trophies.

Pont des Invalides

Pont Alexandre III, the most elegant and extravagant bridge over the Seine, links Les Invalides to the Champs-Élysées. Built for the Paris Exposition of 1900, it features gilded statues on elaborate columns, as well as monumental candelabra. The centers of the arches over the Seine feature copper nymphs, memorials to the Franco-Russian Alliance.

Pont Alexandre III

Pont de la Concorde links the Place de la Concorde with the National Assembly. The bridge was built during the French Revolution using stones from the demolished Bastille for its masonry.

Pont de la Concorde

Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor is a new pedestrian bridge that was completed in 1999. It links the Musée d’Orsay and the Jardin des Tuileries.

Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor

Pont Royal is the third oldest bridge in Paris, constructed between 1685 and 1689. It was entirely financed by King Louis XIV.

Pont Royal

Pont du Carrousel was constructed between 1935 and 1939, replacing an earlier bridge. The bridge is directly in line with the entrance to the Louvre.

Pont du Carrousel

Pont des Arts is a pedestrian bridge completed in 1985, linking the central square of the Louvre with the Institut de France. In the past, thousands of people attached padlocks or lovelocks to the railings to declare their love for each other, earning the bridge the nickname, The Bridge of Love. That practice has since been discouraged by the city.

Pont des Arts

Paris’s oldest bridge, paradoxically named the Pont Neuf, the “new bridge,” was completed in 1607. Located at the tip of the Île de la Cité, Pont Neuf is composed of two separate spans that link the island with both the left and right banks of the city. Bastions, or semi-circular parts that jut out above the piers, were designed to allow people to step aside out of the way of large carriages and refrain from getting muddy or wet.

Pont Neuf

Our boat passed under the south span (the span on the right in the photo above) of the Pont Neuf to circle the islands in a counterclockwise direction. We would pass again under the bridges listed above on our way back to Viking Fjorgyn.

Part II will cover the bridges on both sides of the islands, as well as the remaining two bridges near our ship.