Paris Bridges #2of3

(From East to West)

Pont Saint Louis is the seventh bridge built on more or less this same site, and it joins the Ile Saint Louis and the Ile de la Cité. Over the centuries the first six bridges collapsed, were damaged by floods, river accidents, and explosions.

Pont Louis Philippe crosses the Seine from the tip of the Ile Saint Louis, to the right bank of the Seine.

Pont au Double, which connects Ile de la Cité with the left bank, was completely rebuilt in 1882.

Pont d'Arcole was built in 1856 as a continuation of the same street that crosses Pont au Double, and connects Ile de la Cité with the Seine’s right bank, right at the Paris City Hall.

Petit Pont, from Ile de la Cité to the left bank, is without doubt the location where the very first structure across the Seine was built.

Pont Notre Dame, from Ile de la Cité to the right bank, is a continuation of the street that crosses Petit Pont.

Pont Saint Michel, from Ile de la Cité to the left bank, was completed in 1387. It was damaged, rebuilt, struck by boats, collapsed, again rebuilt, then destroyed by ice in 1616. Finally in 1857 it was replaced.

Pont au Change, from Ile de la Cité to the right bank, is more or less at the point where Caesar’s army destroyed a bridge in 50 BC. Louis VII ordered all the money-changers of Paris to move to this bridge, leading to its present name of "Pont au Change.” At this point various bridges have been built, destroyed, flooded, burned, and built again.

Pont Neuf, the first modern bridge in Paris, touches the tip of Ile de la Cité as it connects Rive Gauche, the Left Bank of the Seine, with Rive Droite, the Right Bank. When first built, more than 400 years ago, it was called "New Bridge," by now it is the oldest to span the Seine.

Passerine des Arts originally was a pedestrian footbridge, with a one-penny toll. After much damage by barges, it was closed in 1970. A new footbridge, finished in 1985, is now a meeting place for artists who find inspiration in the nearby Louvre, the Institute, and the Ile de la Cité.

Pont du Carrousel, completed in 1939, is sometimes called the "Pont du Louvre" because it reaches the right bank, directly in front of the Louvre Palace.