The Pont des Arts Bridge in Paris



The Pont des Arts is actually a pedestrian only foot bridge over the River Seine that has become known as The Bridge of Love, as thousands of people attach padlocks or lovelocks to the railings to declare their love for each other while on a romantic holiday in Paris.

The Pont des Arts Bridge



The Pont des Arts is still a very popular bridge for tourists visiting Paris, whether it be to get from one bank to the other, sit and relax or watch the boats on the River seine, and it is also a very popular destination for artists due the lovely views of historical buildings and monuments.
Pont des Arts Paris
However, over the last few years the Pont des Arts has become known as the Bridge of Love, and today is very popular with numerous couples who travel from all over the world to declare their love to each other, and at the same time they would attach a padlock to the railings of this bridge.

Tradition has it, that you are meant to throw the padlock keys into the River Seine after you have attached the lovelock, as they are known, to the railings of the bridge.  However, as you can no doubt appreciate this can cause problems and safety issues, so this particular aspect is something the city of Paris is trying to stop people doing, and asking them to keep hold of the keys.

Now there is one thing we would like to point out.  As you may have seen from the pictures of this bridge, there are thousands of these love locks as they are known, and back in 2010 padlocks were removed, which is when another bridge in Paris called the Pont de l'Archeveche started having padlocks attached to it.  So, do not get confused between the two, as the Pont des Arts is the original known as the Bridge of Love, whereas the Pont de l'Archeveche is known as the Lovers bridge.
Yet, if you do not have time to prepare a padlock before your holiday in Paris, or just decide to do this on the spur of the moment, then you have no problem in finding people selling lovelocks nearby to both bridges, and they will even supply a marker pen to write on your message, names, initials, or whatever you want.

Just remember to take a photo as a reminder of your romantic gesture and your holiday in the city of lights, as while we were there, the Pont des Arts railings were virtually full of the love locks, so no doubt they will be removed again at some point to make way for thousands more and also protect the bridge for the future.

Visiting the Pont des Arts Bridge



As we mentioned earlier, one side gives access to the Musee du Louvre Museum via the Quai du Louvre, and on the opposite bank of the River Seine is where the historical Institut de France sits, and this is known as the Place de l'Institut by the Quai de Conti.
Pont des Arts supports
Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge
You will find this popular tourist attraction in the 6th Arrondissement and the nearest Metro station to the Pont des Arts Bridge is called the Louvre - Rivoli stop that serves line 1 and 7 which are right by the Louvre Museum on the right bank.

Yet you can also find other public transport that stop nearby including Paris bus lines 21, 24, 27, 39, 68, 69, 72, 76, 81, 85 and 95, along with the Noctilien Night Bus Service, via lines N11, N12, N13 and N24.