Where is the seine river located?
It rises 18 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of Dijon
and flows in a northwesterly direction through Paris
before emptying into the English Channel
at Le Havre.
The river is 485 miles (780 kilometers) long and with its tributaries drains an
area of about 30,400 square miles (78,700 square kilometers). It is one of
Europe’s great historic rivers, and its drainage network carries most of the
French inland waterway traffic. Since the early middle Ages it has been above
all the river of Paris.
What are the bridges that can be seen
there?
There are 32 bridges on the river in Paris, some of
them more impressive than others. The Oldest Bridge is the Pont Neuf which has
been immortalized by artists and poets and even 20th century films. There is a
beautiful little island crossed by the bridge which the riverboat tours now use
as a docking station. In the spring or summer it's a wonderful place to hang
out on a bench under the willow trees, or sunbathe on the slanted stone
embankments near the tended gardens in its center. If you are the kind of
person who likes watching boats this is a great spot. Actually it is one of the
nicest places to hang out in all of Paris.
Another popular bridge is the Pont Des Arts, which
differs from many other bridges in that it is constructed of metal and is
entirely pedestrian. With one of the most stunning views in all of Paris this
is a top hang-out and pick-me-up zone in good weather. People bring wine and
picnics, others bring guitars, and the atmosphere is almost always festive.
Below the bridge on the left and right quays there are hundreds of sunbathers,
cyclists, strollers, joggers anything else you could hope for, making use of
the elegant stone quays. The quay run along the entire length of the river as
if bisects the city, parts merge into riverside highways and others into
pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths. A section of the pedestrian bank has
been designated the "Paris Beach" and has become THE summer
attraction in the city. Thousands of tons of sand are imported along with full
size palm trees, beach chairs and chaise-lounges to create what may be the only
artificial "beach" in Europe.
Why the river is an interesting place
for tourists?
The riverbanks are worth exploring. There are
floating restaurants, discos, and cafes for those who can afford it and free
benches for all those travelers who are just as happy to enjoy the same view
with their own wine, bread and cheese from a local grocer. Houseboats can be
examined close up on the right bank near the Orangerie, and the stone walls of
the quays are a type of code language for the river's past. If you look
carefully you can see the various water levels form past floods, the giant iron
rings used to tie river barges to the docks, the odd iron grate or doorway
leading to an underground passage, an ancient sewer system, metro portals and
an unknown catacomb. These stone embankments are now protected by UNESCO as
world heritage sites. The best way to get the feel of the river is of course by
boat. There are many boat tour operators in Paris offering various levels of
service form taxi-boats to private dining experiences. The most famous are
still the Bateaux-Mouches. And also there are lunch and dinner cruises.
Also the Batobus sails up and down the seine from
the Eiffel Tower to the Institute Du Monda Arabe with stops along the main
attractions. It works just like bus service which you can hop on and
off. You can buy a day pass or a two day pass and use it to travel
up and down the river at your pleasure.
What is the historical value of the river?
Beyond the mere technical facts surrounding the
river and its environs, it is a deep and more inexplicable attraction. The
water speaks to us of a past we will never experience but nevertheless find
ourselves linked to by association. Staring at the murky river from a cold
bridge in a Parisian winter it is impossible not to think of Paul Celan, the
tormented poet of the holocaust, who plunged to his death in those same waters,
or the less known victims of French revolution when hundreds of bodies were
dredged from the depths, or simply the unnamed and uncelebrated who also met
their ends at the river bottom. This is not to say the river represents a cult
of death, but it's interesting to conceive of it as part of the full cycle of
life. Great triumphs and great tragedies have occurred near the river, which
less aware tourists view as the background to their photo collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment