As early as 1550, Henry II was asked to build a bridge here because the existing Pont Notre-Dame was overloaded, but the expense was too much at the time.
In February 1578, the decision to build the bridge was made by See more

Between 1712 and 1719, replacing an earlier one, a large pump house was built on the bridge. It was decorated with an image of the See more

All through the 18th century, the Pont Neuf was the center of Paris, lively with both crime and commerce:
Czar Peter the Great, who came to study French civilization under the regency of the Duke d'Orleans, declared that he had found nothing more … See more

The mascarons are the stone masks, 381 in number, each being different and which decorate the sides of the bridge. They represent the heads … See more

At the point where the bridge crosses the Île de la Cité, there stands a bronze equestrian statue of king Henry IV, originally commissioned from Giambologna under the orders of Marie de Médicis, Henri's widow and Regent of France, in 1614. After his … See more

In 1838, Louis Daguerre produced his famous daguerreotype portrait of the View of the Boulevard du Temple, widely considered the first … See more

In 1985, after years of negotiation with the mayor of Paris, the art duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Pont Neuf. See more