Pont Neuf and Île de la Cité at Night

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In this photograph, you see the Pont Neuf, which, despite its name (Pont Neuf means “new bridge”), is the oldest bridge still standing in Paris, at over 400 years old. The outer surface of the shorter branch connecting the Île de la Cité to the Left Bank (see on the right in this photograph) has been fully restored; the longer branch is still awaiting cleaning. That’s why the shorter branch seems more brilliantly lit.

The small park on the the Île de la Cité in the foreground is the Square du Vert Galant; it is quite pretty and charming, especially in the late afternoon and at sunset, when it affords an especially scenic view of the Seine. The brilliant lights on the left side of the island mark the embarcation point of another excursion-boat company, the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf. The building with the bright blue sign at the extreme left of the photograph is the Samaritaine, a huge department store. Just slightly to the right of it is the top of the Tour St. Jacques. Slightly beyond that and well-lit on the same bank is the Théâtre de la Ville. Beyond that you can see part of the Hôtel de Ville.

If there were fewer trees and buildings, you’d be able to see Notre-Dame Cathedral just at the left end of the right segment of the Pont Neuf, near the of this picture (it is visible from a greater distance, but nearby objects hide it from this vantage point). The tall spire you see on the island in the darkness, among the rooftops, is the Sainte-Chapelle. Finally, the squarish skyscraper on the Left Bank in silhouette is the central tower of the University of Pierre and Marie Curie, part of the University of Paris (which is spread all over the city).

If you are wondering how I manage to find all these landmarks in the darkness, remember that (1) I know where they are; and (2) I have the original slide, which is much larger than what you see here!

In this picture, you are looking upstream and southeast. The Left Bank and Latin Quarter are on the right of the photograph; the Right Bank and Marais quarter are on the left side of the photograph. I know this is confusing, but it’s because we are looking upstream, and the banks are named based on how they appear when you are looking downstream, in the direction that the river flows. The picture was taken from the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge.

I tried really hard to get this exposed and color-corrected so that it looks like real life. I’m still experimenting and I hope to gradually improve accuracy as time passes. This is pretty close, though.

Photographed on November 29, 1999.