Parigi City Guide: Alexandre III Bridge - Travel & Discover

The city's many bridges over the Seine River may be elegant, romantic, or monumental in style, but many also have a long and interesting history. If the bridges on either side of the cité and the one which connects that island with the Ile Saint-Louis are counted, there are 37 bridges within the city limits of Paris. Paris's most sumptuous bridge, the Pont Alexandre III, opened just in time for the Universal Exposition of 1900. Aligned with the Esplanade des Invalides, the Pont Alexandre III connects the Grand and Petit Palais on the right bank with the Hôtel des Invalides on the left bank. The bridge is lavishly decorated with lampposts and sculptures of cherubs and nymphs. On each end of the Pont Alexandre III stand large gilded statues on granite pillars, 17 meters high. Each of the ornaments on the bridge was created by a different artist. The bridge is constructed of steel and stone in the Art Nouveau style. It was opened by the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, who also laid the foundation stone in 1900 to celebrate the Franco-Russian alliance. It was named in memory of the Tsar's father.