Pont Alexandre III

Run your hand along the stone parapet. It is cool and smooth, worn by more than a century of elbows and palms. Below you, the Seine moves slowly, green and grey. Barges slide under your feet with a low hum of engines. Above you, gold flashes in the sky. Four winged figures stand on tall columns, one at each corner of the bridge. In bright sunshine they are almost too bright to look at. Welcome to Pont Alexandre III.

This bridge was built for a party. In the late nineteenth century, Paris was preparing the Exposition Universelle of 1900, a world's fair meant to show France at the peak of its confidence. The city wanted a new crossing that would link the exhibition grounds on both banks. It also wanted a statement. The result is perhaps the most decorated bridge in Paris. Lamps, cherubs, garlands, sea creatures and gilded statues cover almost every surface around you.

The name tells a diplomatic story. In the 1890s, France and Russia signed an alliance. For France, this was a relief. After the war with Prussia in 1870, the country had felt isolated in Europe. The bridge was named after Tsar Alexander the Third, who had agreed to the alliance. He died before construction began. So in 1896, his son, the new Tsar Nicholas the Second, came to Paris and laid the foundation stone himself.

Here is a detail many visitors miss. The friendship went both ways. The following year, the French president, Félix Faure, travelled to Saint Petersburg. There, he laid the foundation stone of the Trinity Bridge across the river Neva. So this bridge has a sister, far to the east. Two capitals, two rivers, two bridges — each one a gift of goodwill to the other.

Now look down at the shape of the bridge itself. It crosses the Seine in a single arch of steel, with no supports standing in the water. At the time, this was a bold piece of engineering. The engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby designed it, and the architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin shaped its appearance. Notice how low and flat the arch is. It barely rises above the water. That was not only a style choice.

The city set a strict rule. The bridge must not block the view. Turn to face the south bank and you will understand why. At the end of the long green esplanade stands the golden dome of Les Invalides, the old military hospital where Napoleon is buried. Planners wanted that dome to remain visible from the Champs-Élysées side of the river. So the bridge had to stay low. The engineers solved the problem with this shallow, wide arch of steel.

Now look up at the four tall pillars at the ends of the bridge. Each one is topped by a gilded figure of Fame, holding back a winged horse. They act as counterweights, visually anchoring the light arch between them. At the base of each pillar sits a seated stone woman. These figures represent different ages of France: the France of Charlemagne, the France of the Renaissance, the France of Louis the Fourteenth, and modern France. Read them in a circle, and you walk through a thousand years.

Walk to the middle of the bridge and lean carefully over the edge. On each side, at the very centre of the arch, there is a large figure in hammered copper. These are nymphs, by the sculptor Georges Récipon. On one side is the nymph of the Seine, with the arms of Paris. On the other is the nymph of the Neva, with the arms of Russia. The two rivers of the alliance meet here, face to face across the deck.

The lamps deserve a closer look too. Rows of ornate bronze candelabra line both sides of the bridge. Small cherubs climb around their bases, and the glass globes sit high above your head. Look also for the fish, shells and sea plants worked into the metal. The whole design talks about water and the river below. At dusk, when the lamps come on, the bridge changes completely. The gold turns warm, and the reflections stretch across the Seine.

Behind you, on the Right Bank, stand two more buildings from the same world's fair. The Grand Palais has its huge glass roof, and the smaller Petit Palais sits across the avenue. Together with this bridge, they form one long axis, planned as a single scene. Many temporary pavilions from 1900 were taken down after the fair ended. These three survived. Standing here, you are at the heart of what remains of that great exhibition.

A bridge this beautiful is never quiet for long. You will probably see wedding couples posing by the lamps, photographers waiting for the light, and runners crossing at a steady pace. Film crews love it too, and the bridge has appeared in many movies set in Paris. In the summer of 2024, during the Paris Olympic Games, it became a sporting venue. Athletes in the triathlon and marathon swimming events started their races from here, diving into the Seine below.

If you have a few minutes, walk down the steps to the riverside quay. From below, you can see the underside of the steel arch and the rhythm of its ribs. You also see how thin the structure really is. Up on the deck, the decoration takes all your attention. Down by the water, the engineering is easier to see. This is where the bridge shows its two characters at once — a showpiece above, and a careful machine below.

Before you go, stand still for a moment in the centre of the bridge. Look one way, towards the glass roof of the Grand Palais. Look the other way, towards the golden dome of Les Invalides. Listen to the water, the traffic, and the voices around you. More than a century ago, this bridge was built to celebrate a friendship between two nations. Today it simply carries people across the river, in the same golden light.