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Why the most famous bridge in Paris has been turned into a cave
The Pont Neuf is arguably Paris’s most famous bridge. And now, it’s become a cave…at least for the time being. Many historians, tour guides, and Paris afficionados like to point out that while “Pont Neuf” means “New Bridge”, it’s actually the oldest still-standing bridge in the city. But maybe the name stuck because when it was new, it was unlike anything Parisians had seen before. Built from 1578 to 1607, the Pont Neuf was the first stone bridge to cross the Seine that didn’t have houses built on it. Yes, that’s right: It used to be common for houses, typically with shops on their ground floors, to be constructed along the lengths of bridges. You can see an example in this 1751 painting by Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Raguenet. The Parisian bridge depicted here is the Pont Notre-Dame (which has been rebuilt since and is a houseless, fairly unremarkable bridge today). The Pont Notre-Dame in 1751. It was lined with houses, like all of the other bridges in Paris at the time…except for the...