Pont Neuf

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This is the Pont Neuf (pronounced /põ nœf/, and meaning “new bridge”), which—despite its name—is the oldest bridge still standing on the Seine river in Paris. Construction began on the bridge in 1578, more than four hundred years ago.

The bridge is built of stone and is very sturdy; it is the only bridge in Paris that has withstood every flood the Seine has thrown at it. It was unusual in its time because it was not designed to accommodate houses (in the days when it was built, it was fashionable to have a house on a bridge, because that provided you with an indoor toilet—I'll leave the details on this for you to figure out). It did accommodate street vendors for some time, although not in any recent era. It was also the first location in Paris to sport sidewalks.

The bridge crosses the river at the western tip of the Île de la Cité (this is the same island that hosts Notre-Dame Cathedral). It has a long arm (seen here) on the north side of the island, and a short arm (not visible here) on the south side, which makes it the longest bridge in Paris if you count the two arms together.

The external stonework of the short arm has been carefully restored and looks brand new; the north side is still rather sooty and under renovation. This photograph was taken back in 1999, before the renovation began (part of the bridge is covered by scaffolding now, so I haven't used a more recent photo).

On the right is the Île de la Cité, you can see the Conciergerie in the background on the island (on the left), and the spire near the center of the island is the Sainte Chapelle.

This photograph was taken at sunset on a day in August. The light isn't ideal, but as I've said, I wanted a photo that shows the bridge without the scaffolding.

Beneath the leftmost (northernmost) arch, you can see an eastbound expressway for automobile traffic, named the Voie Georges Pompidou, after the French president who more or less pushed for the project. Traffic was light this evening because it was the month of August, when many Parisians go on vacation.

You are looking southeast and upstream in the picture. If you'd like to see what the bridge looks like on a day with really rotten weather, click here (the contrast is remarkable!). I also have a rather pretty photo of the bridge taken at night, if you would like to see that.

I have a video on the Île de la Cité that shows the bridge, if you're interested.

Photographed on August 29, 1999.