Passerelle des Arts
The Pont des Arts, also known as Passerelle des Arts, is the footbridge that connects the Louvre Museum on the Quai François Mitterrand (Rive Droite – Right Bank) to the Institut de France on the Quai de Conti (Rive Gauche – Left Bank).
This footbridge provided access to the Palais du Louvre, which was transformed into a museum during the French Revolution and was then known as the Palais des Arts.
The Pont des Arts was the first metal bridge in Paris, an innovative architectural design in the early 19th century, and was built by the engineers Louis Alexandre de Cessart and Jacques Vincent Lacroix Dillon.
Its nine arches were originally adorned with lush vegetation, giving it the appearance of a hanging garden. However, one of the arches was replaced by a single, larger arch when the Quai de Conti was widened in 1852.
For 125 years, the Pont des Arts served as a vital pedestrian link over the Seine.
Unfortunately, the devastation of the two World Wars and numerous collisions with barges in the 1960s severely weakened its structure. The bridge was thus closed to the public in 1977.
This proved to be an excellent decision, as a large section collapsed in 1979 when a barge struck its arches. The bridge was dismantled the following year, but did not end up in a scrapyard.
The town of Nogent-sur-Marne, in the east of Paris, acquired the intact sections of the bridge and rebuilt it near its marina in 1992!
The current Pont des Arts
The current bridge was built in the early 1980s. It is a perfect replica of the original footbridge, except that the number of its arches reduced from eight to seven to align with that of the Pont-Neuf upstream.
The “new” Pont des Arts was inaugurated on June 27, 1984, at a ceremony presided over by Jacques Chirac, then Mayor of Paris.
Known for its exclusively pedestrian access, the Pont des Arts offers breathtaking views of the Ile de la Cité, the Pont Neuf, and the Louvre, making it a favourite spot for tourists and lovers who used to attach love padlocks (cadenas d’amour) to its railings.
However, these locks were removed in 2015 due to the risks associated with their weight, which threatened to compromise the bridge’s structure.
Today, the Pont des Arts continues to attract visitors and hosts art exhibitions and was classified as a historical monument in 1975.
Metro: Pont-Neuf (on Rive Droite) on Line 7
Coordinates: Lat 48.858449 – Long 2.337557
