Paris, France – View From the Bridges

This is a picture looking through a hole in a bridge [Pont Saint-Michel], looking onto another bridge. I took this as we were walking to the Pompidou Museum, on the other side of the Seine.

The bridge in the background is the Pont Neuf, which is funny because “pont neuf” translates as “new bridge” but it’s really the oldest bridge in Paris over the Seine!

I took this photo because I really wanted a cool perspective though something, to another thing of the same kind. It’s pretty cool.

There’s an undeniable feeling of the importance of beauty and the arts around the older (and more touristic) parts of Paris. Even the bridges over the Seine are inspiring. We walked, biked, sailed, and rode the metro over and under two dozen of them on our trip. And each bridge is unique and inspiring, like the bridges that The Kid photographed in their photo.

Unfortunately the bridges of Paris are getting marred by tourists leaving “love locks” on them. So many have been placed on the Pont des Arts and on this one, the Pont de l’Archevêché, that they have not just blocked the view through the railings or balusters, but these bridges have also started sagging under the excess weight of the padlocks! My photo shows a railing that fell off the bridge because of this very problem the locks cause.

Someone painted this message on the temporary panel to encourage the respect the beauty (and safety) of the bridge itself. A backlash against the locks has started in the city, and inspired the website “NoLoveLocks.com” to help discourage the practice. We also found out that the City of Paris has also asked people to stop too, suggesting instead to just take selfies and posting them online. I hope that they can persuade everyone to stop putting up the locks, and once again start appreciating the beauty of the bridges and their views that inspire art, love and romance.