Paris Passerelle de la Moselle pedestrian bridge
The Paris Passerelle de la Moselle is a pedestrian bridge in Paris that goes over the Bassin de la Villette, which is the artificial lake first constructed as a port during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, and although the original bridge no longer exists, there is still one there with the same name providing access to both banks.
A bit of history
There was originally a footbridge constructed over the Bassin de la Villette back in 1882, which was designed by the engineer and entrepreneur Armand Moisant, and the idea was to enable more people to get from one side to the other easily and quickly, as at the time, this was a thriving and very busy commercial port.
When it was constructed this bridge had one single span over the basin, which was the artificial lake that Napoleon Bonaparte originally inaugurated in 1808 that connected the Canal de l’Ourcq to the Canal Saint-Martin.
Yet incredibly, the Paris Passerelle de la Moselle pedestrian bridge also had a very large clock of around three metres in diameter as a decoration, but also for a point of reference to the people working here unloading and loading barges.
About the Paris Passerelle de la Moselle pedestrian bridge
Unfortunately, the original Paris Passerelle de la Moselle is no longer in existence and we have not been able to find out why, or when this was destroyed, but it has been replaced by a new footbridge in exactly the same location with the same name.
This new bridge is classed as a steel girder bridge, and rather boring and bland, it was only constructed back in the 1960s, but it still retained its name to the road it connects to, which is the Rue de la Moselle. It is also located in the same position, which is virtually in the middle of the Bassin de la Vilette between the Quai de la Seine and the Quai de la Moselle, but unfortunately, we have been unable to find any other information about this bridge in Paris.
Visiting the Paris Passerelle de la Moselle pedestrian bridge
Now when it comes to visiting the Paris Passerelle de la Moselle pedestrian bridge, although the bridge itself is not really that interesting compared to most bridges in Paris, the views looking either way of the Bassin de la Villette are definitely worth it.
You could enjoy a cruise with a company called Canauxrama that goes along the Canal Saint-Martin from the Port de l’Arsenal leisure marina, which is in between the River Seine and the Place de la Bastille, then the cruise goes through to the Bassin de la Villette, underneath the bridge, to the Canal de l'Ourcq at the Parc de la Villette.
However, for those of you that are utilising Paris public transport, the nearest Metro stations are the Riquet stop via line 7 or the Laumiere stop via line 5 on the opposite side. Yet if you go further down the Bassin de la Villette, you would be by the Metro station called the Stalingrad stop, which serves lines 2, 5 and 7.
Alternatively, the Paris bus lines 26, 48, 54 and 60 along with the Noctilien Night Bus Service via Lines N13, N41, N42 and N45 will also get you close by to the Paris Passerelle de la Moselle and the Bassin de la Villette.
