7.11.08

... and even more Seine bridges


Continuing with the Seine bridges serial...

In addition to the bridges that have been built by purpose for pedestrians, there are three additional bridges which have become pedestrian. They are all connecting Ile de la Cité (You can refer to posts about Pont Neuf, Place Dauphine, Palais de Justice with Sainte Chapelle), either to the southern (left) bank or to Ile Saint Louis (see previous posts). For a more global view of the Seine River, you can refer to my recent post, but here you have a more detailed picture.
The Pont au Double has its strange name from the fact that originally you had to pay a double toll pass. (Don’t worry; today it’s free of charge). A first bridge was constructed here in 1636 - with hospital buildings, but the present one is from 1883. Using this bridge is in my mind the nicest way to take between Notre Dame and the left bank with the Quartier Latin. Without being disturbed by any traffic you will first reach Square René Viviani with a very good total view of Notre Dame, the possibly oldest tree in Paris, the possibly oldest church in Paris (Saint-Julien-des-Pauvres) ...(see previous post).
If you turn to the right after crossing the bridge, coming from Notre Dame, you will also find the famous bookshop “Shakespeare & Co.”, opened in 1951 by an American (George Whitman) and specialising in English language literature. (A lot can be said about this famous shop and I would recommend having a look on this site.)


The top picture is taken from the Pont de l’Archevêché (Archbishop’s residence – not there anymore), which is the most narrow of the Paris Seine bridges. It dates from 1828. It’s also the one that allows the narrowest passage for the fluvial navigation. On the below picture it’s the small bridge to the left of Notre Dame. Between the bridge and Notre Dame there is a small park and, in my mind, this is where you can get one of the nicest views of the cathedral, from what you may call the back side.
The present Pont Saint Louis is the seventh to be placed here, the first in 1627. The present one is a very simple one from 1970. It connects the two islands, Ile de la Cité and Ile Saint Louis. I have never passed this bridge without getting some kind of entertainment from musicians or other artists.
You can find the above photos “in full” in a slide show on Ipernity. ... or on Flickr. Do you have a preference?
Friday again! Have a nice weekend! (I may finish with the bridges next week.)

33 comments:

Karen said...

Thank you for posting these.. I'm going to find them when I get to Paris and get my much needed excercise finding all of these great places.

Virginia said...

Peter,
Oh my, you have shown us so many wonderful bridges. I want to photograph them all! My Pont Sully, now I can't remember where it lies between all of these. I thought by Notre Dame but now I am not sure. Maybe some at night, some in the daytime??? You have done a marvelous job, as always, of showing us the bridges we must not overlook!
V

claude said...

Elles sont belles et intéressantes tes histoires des ponts de Paris. Notre dame est toujours aussi majestueuse. Today je montre la cathédrale du Mans. Bon WE Peter !

hpy said...

ND de Paris, sans doute une des églises les plus photographiées; le petit parc, ou le square en triangle au bout de l'île - ferme-t-il toujours pour la nuit? - et des pont en pagaille. Que demander de plus? Bon weekend (de quatre jours?)

Ruth said...

Oh! So much here.

The Double is my second favorite, after Pont Neuf. That rich copper color and design is so pleasing. It's great to see all these scenes in the autumn light and colors.

Nothing like sitting at Brasserie de Isle St-Louis at the foot of the bridge and watching the world go by!

And Shakespeare & Co., oh. Once George Whitman (is he still alive?) asked me if I had a bed for the night! If I hadn't, and if I hadn't been with friends, I could have slept in his upstairs room!! That is one of the great moments of my life. I'll send you the link to my blog post about it. I'm not even waiting for you to ask. :)

Anonymous said...

I was wondering just how long it would take you to get in your car and drive out into the country ourside of Paris?

Anonymous said...

tu t'es défoulé avec toutes tes photos. Au moins, on voit que tu n'as pas fait de recyclages de vieilles photos parce que les arbres photographiés ont des feuilles jaunes ou sont sans feuilles, ce qui montre que tu les as pris en photo tout dernièrement. La première photo est très belle. J'aime bien cet atmosphère d'automne autour de la cathédrale.
La semaine prochaine tu dis que tu vas finir avec la série des ponts, donc tu vas couper les ponts? ;-)
Bon, bon, je retourne à ce que je faisais, càd je ne sais pas quoi. Bises et bon WE

Mona said...

wow! the cathedral looks palatial & the bridges are so sturdy & neat!!

I like the way they 'harness' the river with walls out there!

Anonymous said...

The classical view, the touristical one, but always lovely. Notre-Dame is so wonderful seen from one of the bridges.

PeterParis said...

karen:
At least these three briges are vey close to each other!

virginia:
Sully is on the eastern end of Ile St. Louis! You will remember once here!

claude:
La cathédrale du Mans n'es pas mal non plus!

PeterParis said...

hpy:
Pour ta première question, je n'ai pas de réponse. Pour la deuxième... je pense que je vais poster lundi. Tout le monde de fait pas des ponts! :-)

ruth:
Shakespeare & Co is defintely a place worth visiting! I could have mad a post abgout it, but I just made the link!

I believe George Whitman is stil around, but his daughter now runs the buisness! ... and beds are still avaialble! I read your post about it! Here is the link: http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/2006/04/writing-in-paris-shakespeare-co.html Nice experience!

abraham:
I have got rid of my car! Locally, just using metro, bus, feet and my electric little motor bike which I can park anywhere. To leave Paris, renting a car, using trains... Much better!

Anonymous said...

Une visite avec un excellent guide, bravo !

PeterParis said...

delphes:
Je suis pourtant retourné deux fois, certaines photos étaient vraiement trop grises!

Si je dois finir avec les ponts la semaine prochaine, je ne peux pas faire le pont! On verra!

Bon week-end! Tu as sans doute besoin de te reposer; tu ne sais plus ce que tu fais! :-) Bises!

mona:
Yes, the river needs to be harnessed! Sometimes it has a tendency to flood!

ingrid:
Well, I often try to show some odd places, but I can hardly avoid the Eiffel Tower and ND! They are too present! :-)

PeterParis said...

ceanthe:
Thanks for the bravo!

Cergie said...

Tu as bien fait d'y retourner et de toute façon tu n'as aucun mérite de te promener sur les quais avec un ciel et des teintes pareilles.
Moi j'en aurais par ex hier il y avait grève de la SNCF. Galère, galère.
Tout le monde en ce moment photographie le bottom de la Cathé ND de Paris (ça se dit pas ainsi mais ça revient à ça), mais tout le monde ne trouve pas les beaux graphismes qu'offrent les dessous porteurs des ponts de Paris
(La photo du dessus a été prise pas loin de l'Institut du Monde Arabe. Tu te rapproches ! De la terrasse il y a une vue magnifique)

PeterParis said...

... oui, il suffit de se retourner pour voir l'Institut du Monde Arabe. Tu verras la semaine prochaine (si tu es là pour visiter les blogs)! Bises!

Unknown said...

Fantastic set of bridges photos! I like the way you show every location, very good work! Your blog is really a must see!

sonia a. mascaro said...

What a wonderful post, Peter!
Paris is really a gorgeous city!

Have a nice weekend as well!

Anonymous said...

Paris är ett aldrig sinande förråd för Du för att fotografera.
Du är också den vänligaste person, när Du ger en stund för min blog och kommenterar mina isbitar, tack så mycket, Peter.

Jag önskar för Du det lyckligt weckoslutet!

Thérèse said...

As-tu croisé Mathilde?
Bon week-end!

Marie-Noyale said...

Paris ne serait pas Paris sans ses ponts!
Prends ton temps pour nous les montrer ces ponts,je ne suis pas pressée!
C'est p.e idiot mais je prefere la qualite des photos sur Ipernity?
Bon WE

Anonymous said...

Tu as travaillé tes cadrages! une belle diversité de points de vue! tu nous imposes un rythme de voyage organisé pour chinois ;)

HZDP said...

These bridges look very different from those in the oriental world,I really can not tell where the biggest diffence is, but I guess the steel and metal parts of these bridges are something not commonly seen in our old bridges.

Jill said...

Peter, I can't thank you enough for posting all these wonderful photos. I love the way Paris celebrates the river. There is just something magnetic about the bridges. I have 'virtually' walked across most of then on orange.fr; hopefully someday in the flesh.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Ah ça fait plaisir de voir du soleil, tu as bien fait d'y retourner !!!

J'ai énormément aimé ton diaporama sur ipernity et j'ai trouvé très drôle ta dernière photo avec tout le matériel de musique abandonné et toute la foule partie regarder autre chose. Hilarant !!!

PeterParis said...

jm:
Once more, thanks for your very kind words!

sonia:
You are always too kind!

leena:
Tack sà mycket för dessa vänliga ord pà svenska!

PeterParis said...

therese:
En effet! Tu es une très bonne observatrice! Nous avons fait un bout de chemins ensemble!

marie-noyale:
Merci pour ton avis sur Ipernity / Flickr! De faire les deux est un peu beaucoup!

lasiate:
Merci pour ces mots gentils d'un professionnel!

PeterParis said...

hzdp:
Sometimes it's difficult to analyze where is the difference, but you just feel it!

jill:
I put you on the list for future visitors!

nathalie:
Il me semble qu'aussi les musiciens sont partis voir l'autre spectacle, une sorte de mini-théatre assez amusant! :-)

Vagabondage said...

Bonjour Peter,

J'ai plaisir à regarder ces images, s'il m'en souvient l'air était printanier et le ciel si bleu....

A revoir....

Bon WE à toi, je t'embrasse.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Peter,

Fantastic I did not see this post yet very nice, Hoping that you were having a good weekend!

JoAnn

PeterParis said...

mathilde:
Certaines photos sont grises, certaines sont prises sous le soileil et en bonne comagnie!

joann:
Well, as you see, there is still time! :-)

Ming the Merciless said...

Ahhh...they must have finished work on the Notre Dame. The last two times I was there, it was covered in scaffolding and netting. :-(

Lovely photos all around.

Maxime said...

J'aime beaucoup la photo du chevet de Notre-Dame et du Pont-au-Double qui est dans le diaporama (mais apparemment pas ici).
C'est curieux comme en bord de seine, dans tes photos, Paris a l'air d'un petit bout de province paisible. Ce n'est pourtant pas l'impression que j'en ai lorsque je cours de la gare d'Austerlitz à la gare du nord pour attraper le RER pour la Défense.
Sinon, je préfère Flickr pour les diapos...