I’ve wanted to go to the Love Bridge in Paris for awhile and as our first holiday as a couple it was even more special. After all, Paris is the city of love. Here’s my experience visiting the Love Bridge in the most romantic city in the world.
What Is The Love Lock Bridge In Paris?
The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts, more commonly known as the Love Bridge or the Love Lock Bridge, is where people – usually couples – go to leave locks to symbolise their love. The bridge used to be much fuller. However but due to health and safety risks, they’ve taken the locks off. There’s also railings to prevent to bridge getting as full as it once was. The new looks are regularly removed.
People still put the locks on regardless. If you’re expecting it to look like it did in the past, where the whole thing is covered, you’ll be disappointed.
Getting Creative
On the walk to the bridge, there was locks left on literally anything they could be put on. At the bridge itself people wrapped bike locks around the lamp poles and put locks on that. Some even put locks on the lamps themselves.
A lot of street vendors cashed in and you can find heart-shaped locks with the Eiffel towel engraved on them – but I’d imagine they were very expensive.
So, should you put a lock on the love bridge? I can’t tell you what to do, but I will say, if you want to put a lock on, remember that it will be removed. Plus, a lot of Parisians are very against the idea and I think it’s important to respect the locals when you visit somewhere new. There’s even groups who want to make the practice illegal, so if you’re going to Paris in the future, check to see if anything has changed before potentially implicating yourself.
Is The Love Bridge Worth It?
The Love Bridge was also only a short walk away from Shakespeare & Co and Notre Dame so if you’re in Paris I’d recommend going to both. I think it was worth going, especially because it’s in a nice area. So many tourist attractions are expensive in Paris, so it’s nice this one is free.
Even if you’re not there to put a lock on, the architecture in Paris is gorgeous. There’s stunning views of boats on the River Seine, you can also just about see the Eiffel Tower from there too. Here’s some more love bridges from around the world.
Have you ever been to a Love Bridge? What would you do in Paris?
I remember visiting Paris about 4 or 5 years ago when this bridge was covered in locks. I didn’t leave one as my partner at the time thought it was silly! There’s also a similar lock bridge in Cologne – Germany. I think it’s cute you kept your key. 😊
I saw pictures of it from back then and it looked amazing