Our one-bedroom apartment in Paris was on Seine, within a minute's walk to Pont Neuf. Doug's on the historic bridge - behind him a tour boat is cruising toward the Ile de la Cite/Notre Dame.
On the opposite side, the Louvre is on the far left. After crossing Pont Neuf, there's a Metro station at the Quai du Louve and the historic La Samaritaine department store, under major renovation and scheduled to reopen in 2018 as a hotel, apartment, office and small retail complex.
Despite its name (New Bridge), Pont Neuf is the oldest in Paris; it's now popular with couples who want to celebrate their love by fastening locks to the bridge and then throwing the keys into the Seine.
The romantic ritual gained popularity in Paris in late 2008 on Pont des Arts. The city, however, put an end to the tradition in June 2015 by removing nearly 700,000 locks - estimated at 45 tons - because parts of the Pont des Arts were collapsing due to the weight.
The current plan is to auction off the "love locks" with proceeds raised going to associations dedicated to helping migrants in Paris.
From the looks of it, the "love locks" on the Pont Neuf may be the next "to go."
A bronze equestrian statue of Henrici Magni (King Henry IV) stands in the central section of Pont Neuf.
Within minutes after crossing the Pont Neuf, we arrived by Metro at the Louvre.
(blog posts by Heidi Hutson)
No comments:
Post a Comment