Second-hand bookseller ©Paris Tourist Office Photographer Jacques Lebar
Walking the bridges of Paris
There are no hills to walk up and no bills to pay. The views from the centre of the whole city are sensational and you can almost smell the Gallic culture as all of it passes by. Any ordinarily fit person can easily clamber across all of the bridges in just a few hours though stopping and enjoying the sights will add to your time on this journey.
Hire a bicycle from points in the streets if you prefer to conduct your trip on two wheels. Pay the very modest charge with your credit card at the machines by the cycle racks. Be careful on the roads though, the Parisian motorists are renowned for their driving skills but sadly, not for their manners.
In summer months, Parisian authorities bring the seaside to Paris. Sections of the Seine embankments are converted into beaches using vast amounts of sand. You can watch people with their children enjoying life as though they were at the coast.
Pont Alexandre III
The bridge (right) has four granite columns, two on each side of the river, atop them are gilded statues of the Fames. On the Right Bank you’ll see the Fame of Science and Fame of Arts. Beneath them are sculptures of Contemporary France and Charlemagne.
On the the Left Bank, are the Fames of Commerce and Industry. Underneath are statues of Louis XIV and Renaissance France.
Lion statues adorn the ends of the bridge, on the Right Bank they were designed by George Gardet and on the Left Bank are by Jules Dalou.