Pont de Tolbiac, Bridge in Paris, France
Pont de Tolbiac is a stone bridge over the Seine in the eastern part of Paris, linking the 12th arrondissement on the right bank to the 13th on the left. It rests on five elliptical arches and runs about 168 meters (550 feet) from one bank to the other.
The bridge was built between 1879 and 1882 to designs by architects H.P. Bernard and J.D.A. Perouse, after an earlier proposal by Gustave Eiffel was turned down by city officials. Its name refers to the Battle of Tolbiac, a 5th-century victory attributed to Clovis I, king of the Franks.
The bridge connects Bercy on one side with the area around the Bibliothèque nationale de France on the other, two neighborhoods that have changed a great deal in recent decades. Crossing it on foot gives a clear sense of how different the two banks feel today.
The bridge is easy to cross on foot or by bike and has no major obstacles for people with reduced mobility. Those arriving by metro will find Cour Saint-Emilion and Bibliothèque François Mitterrand stations within walking distance on either side.
Although Gustave Eiffel is now famous for his iron structures, he originally submitted a proposal for this crossing that the city turned down in favor of a stone design. The foundations of the bridge that was eventually built used a cement-based technique that was still unusual for a stone structure of this scale at the time.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
