Paris's first iron bridge, linking the Louvre to the Institut de France. A bridge romantic bridge that actually died for love...
 
This watercolour captures the Pont des Arts from the Left Bank, its nine slender iron arches stretching across the Seine towards the Louvre's Cour Carrée, with the Institut de France's dome rising behind.
 
Built between 1801 and 1804 under Napoleon Bonaparte, it was the first metal bridge in Paris, designed by engineers Louis-Alexandre de Cessart and Jacques Dillon, who originally envisioned a suspended garden with trees, flowerbeds, and benches. How awesome would that have been?
 
The bridge connects the Institut de France on the Left Bank to the Louvre on the Right Bank, and is part of the UNESCO-listed Banks of the Seine. Rebuilt in 1981–84 after a barge collision in 1979 caused a 60-metre section to collapse, the bridge was restored to its original design and remains a pedestrian-only crossing.
 
Interesting facts...
 
Crossing the bridge originally cost one sou, a small toll that made it a paid attraction as well as a practical crossing.
 
The bridge was the first in Paris to use metal construction, a pioneering engineering feat at a time when British engineering offered the main precedents for large iron structures.
 
 By 2014, over one million love locks weighed 45 tonnes, causing part of the railing to collapse in June of that year. In June 2015, the City of Paris removed all the locks, earning a Guinness World Record for the most love locks removed from a bridge. Yes apparently there is a world record for that!
 
The metal grilles were replaced with barriers to prevent locks being attached, while the city encouraged couples to express affection in other ways. Well it is Paris the city of love...
 
Location: Pont des Arts, 75006 Paris, France