Pont des Invalides bridge in Paris



This bridge over the River Seine was constructed in the 1800s and is located in between the Pont de l’Alma and the Pont Alexandre III close to numerous famous tourist attractions in Paris.

A bit of history



It was back in 1821 that a suspension bridge over the River Seine was first proposed with a revolutionary single span, and construct was started in 1824 opposite the Hotel des Invalides, which is where you can find the Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Pont des Invalides Paris
However, cracks started to appear in parts of the bridge as it was settling, and the project was totally abandoned even before the Pont des Invalides bridge was opened to traffic and was had already been constructed was destroyed.

Yet there were also many complaints about the location of the bridge, which is in fact the location of the Pont Alexandre III bridge that you can see in all its glory today, and so, it was decided that a completely new designed suspension bridge would be moved further along.

And designed by two architects and engineers, the new Pont des Invalides was a suspension bridge with two support piers in the River Seine and three porticos, and completed in 1829, it kept its original name.
But even this particular bridge ended up getting weaker through wear and tear and over time the amount of traffic on the bridge had to be regulated to keep it operational, and by 1854 it had become to weak and was demolished.

About Pont des Invalides



The bridge over the River Seine that you can see today is still called the Pont des Invalides and this was constructed in 1854 in readiness for the 1855 World Fair in Paris, which was designed by Paul-Martin Gallocher de Lagalisserie and Jules Savarin utilising the piers from the previous suspension bridge.

But an additional central pier was added so that the Pont des Invalides could be a masonry arch bridge, and this central pier was adorned by two different sculptures that are also known as allegorical statues.  The first representing Land Victory was produced by the artist Victor Vilain and the other on the opposite downstream side is called Maritime Victory that was sculpted by Georges Diebolt.
Pont des Invalides Maritime Victory statue
Pont des Invalides east side
In addition to this, the original two piers were adorned with military trophies and the imperial coat of arms, which were sculpted by the artist Astyanax-Scevola Bosio.

And apart from having to have two arches replaced in the winter of 1880 after storms, and the pavements being expanded in 1956, this bridge in Paris is still the same as when constructed.

It is a total of approximately 152 metres in length and is the lowest bridge over the River Seine, which has meant that during times of flooding the Pont des Invalides has been impassable.  Yet, because it is still essentially the same bridge that was constructed back in 1855, it is now classified as one of the historical monuments in Paris.

Visiting Pont des Invalides over the River Seine

Pont des Invalides military trophy sculpture
You will find the Pont des Invalides located close to numerous different tourist attractions in Paris including the Grand Palais and the Palais de la Decouverte science museum, Les Invalides with its different museums and many more.

This bridge over the River Seine is situated in between the Pont Alexandre III bridge that is located upstream and classed as the most ornate bridge, whereas the next bridge downstream is the Pont de l’Alma, which is where you will find the Flamme de la Liberte that has become the unofficial memorial to Princess Diana.

And when it comes to public transport in Paris the nearest Metro station is the Invalides stop serving lines 8 and 13, which is also an RER train station serving line C.  There is also a Batobus water bus docking station on the opposite bank, but within walking distance of the Pont des Invalides, plus the bus tours in Paris, such as l’OpenTour will also get you close by as well.