Pont Neuf

About this place

The Pont Neuf is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that between 250 and 225 BC was the birthplace of Paris. During the medieval period, the Île was the heart of the city. The bridge is composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank. Old engraved maps of Paris show that the newly built bridge just grazed the downstream tip of the Île de la Cité; since then, the natural sandbar building of a mid-river island, aided by stone-faced embankments called quais, has extended the island. View the structure from the side as well as along its length. This makes its engineering easier to understand and helps connect the monument with the practical movement of water, people or goods that shaped the surrounding settlement.