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The Pont des Arts bridge Lock Bridge April 2013 -001The first thing Natalie and I did after checking into Hotel Verneuil in Paris was walk a few blocks in the hot sun to the Pont des Arts bridge, located near the Louvre. What makes this bridge special, besides its gorgeous views of the River Seine, is that couples have been coming here from all over the world to show their undying love.

The Pont des Arts bridge Lock Bridge April 2013 -005They do it by placing a lock with their names written on it on one of the fences and then throw the key into the river. I liked the whole concept except the fact that you have to throw your key into the river. Mainly, because I didn’t want to pollute the river and secondly, I didn’t want to get arrested for what is essentially littering.

The Pont des Arts bridge Lock Bridge April 2013 -007According to ABC News, the legend surrounding the bridge and the padlock tradition began “when a schoolmistress named Nada would meet her lover, a[n] army officer named Relja, on the bridge where they pledged their love in the days before World War I.” The article goes on to explain the tradition like this: “The soldier went on to fight the Germans at the Thessaloniki front in Greece, where he found a new love and married her. Nada is said to have died of sadness and grief. Nada’s tale of grief inspired young couples determined not to abandon one another to begin writing their names on padlocks and chaining them to the fence of the bridge where Nada and Relja swore their devotion. Serb couples then sealed their promises by tossing the keys into the clear spring-like Vrnjacka River below. It remained a local phenomenon until Desanka Maksimovic, a noted Serb poet who died in 1993, heard the story of the bridge’s lore and wrote one of her most beautiful poems “A Prayer for Love.” The poem has stoked the romance of the bridge.”

The Pont des Arts bridge Lock Bridge April 2013 -008I’m not sure if the Parisian police plan on continuing to cut down the locks – they’ve done it in the past but they don’t seem to be cracking down on it. There are multiple street vendors selling locks on and around the bridge. And now there are two bridges in Paris covered with these locks. But be careful which bridge you choose: one is for your committed love and the other, Pont de l’Archevêché, is for your lover.

Which bridge would you choose?

Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge
Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge
Locks for sale near the bridge
Locks for sale near the bridge
Locks for sale on the bridge
Locks for sale on the bridge
Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge
Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge
Natalie and Johnny
Natalie and Johnny
Our lock
Our lock
Can you find our lock?
Can you find our lock?
Throwing the key
Throwing the key
On Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge
On Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge
Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge at night
Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge at night

8 Comments On "The Pont des Arts Paris Love Lock Bridge"
  1. TJ|

    Don’t be such a weenie!
    There are a lot better way to save the planet than not throwing a key in the Seine!

    1. Katie|

      Absolutely! And the weight on the bridges is tremendous. Why would you want to show your love with a lock, anyway?

  2. Weekend Blitz|

    I was recently in Paris and walked on this bridge — had no idea it was an international phenomenon, but remember thinking it was cool! And, we got engaged that day just a few blocks away, right beside the Seine River!

  3. DebbieT|

    This is such a lovely tradition – we’ll have to make it a part of our plans for an upcoming Paris trip! Thanks for the photos and the description.

  4. Anonymous|

    Please don’t pollute the beautiful Seine.

  5. Katie|

    Please don’t encourage this awful tradition. It’s more about tourism than love! And thoroughly hated by the French who love their architecture — and by foreigners who’d rather see the architecture preserved rather than burdened with excess weight.

  6. Jaime|

    Utter claptrap, stop promoting this pure vandalism. The Parisian hate it. The story of the origin dating back 100 years, involve a bridge in Serbia (and that story was probably made up).

    The locks on bridges in Paris only appeared on Paris the last decade, hardly an old French tradition, more like a new tourist tradition.

  7. Bertie|

    Locks have been removed this week, which is great! This so called “tradition” is only a few years old and it is awful & stupid (sorry Johnny, nothing personal here).

    BTW I’m french and living in Paris : this might explain my opinion about those “love locks”.

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