There are many bridges in the city of Paris, principally over the River Seine, but also over the Canal de l'Ourcq.
There are many bridges in the city of Paris, principally over the River Seine, but also over the Canal de l'Ourcq.
The Île de la Cité (French: [il d(ə) la site]; lit. "Island of the City") is one of two natural islands on the Seine River (alongside Île Saint-Louis) in central Paris. It spans 22.5 hectares (56 acres) of land. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the area governor for the Roman Empire. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace on the island. In the 12th century, its importance as a religious centre increased with the building of Notre-Dame cathedral, and the castle chapel of Sainte-Chapelle. The city hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu, possibly the oldest continuously operating hospital in the world, is also based on the island. Nearby is the site of the city's oldest surviving bridge, the Pont Neuf.
Even with the departure of the French kings to the Louvre Palace across the right bank, and later to the Palace of Versailles, the island remained a centre of administration and law courts. In 1302, it hosted the first meeting of the Parlement of Paris in the old royal palace and was later the site of the trials of aristocrats during the French Revolution. Today, in addition to the prominent cathedral and other shrines, it is the home of the Préfecture de Police, the Palais de Justice, and the Tribunal de commerce de Paris. The Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation, a memorial to the 200,000 people deported from Vichy France to Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War, is located at the eastern end of the island. As of 2016, the island's population was 891.
The Seine (/seɪn, sɛn/ sayn, sen, French: [sɛn] ) is a 777-kilometre-long (483 mi) river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre (and Honfleur on the left bank). It is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the sea. Over 60 percent of its length, as far as Burgundy, is negotiable by large barges and most tour boats, and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating; excursion boats offer sightseeing tours of the river banks in the capital city, Paris.
There are 37 bridges in Paris across the Seine (the most famous of which are the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont Neuf) and dozens more outside the city.