Transportation between bridge Notre-Dame and Paris Roissy CDG airport

History and Visit of the Notre-Dame Bridge in Paris

The Notre-Dame Bridge in Paris, located in the fourth district, connects the Quai de Gesvres on the right bank to the Île de la Cité. Originally, until 1313, it was a wooden bridge linking mills on the Seine to the Grève. Known formerly as the Pont aux Meuniers, it was renamed due to the street it connected to. The Seine’s floods in winter and their recession rendered this street muddy at the intersection of the cutlery and basketry trades. The name ‘Bray’, meaning muddy pond, explains the bridge’s original name. Until 1413, this wooden bridge had removable planks, taken away during attacks for protection, especially during civil wars. These planks extended from the Basketry crossroads to the bridge’s entrance. In 1413, King Charles VI of France renamed it the Pont Notre-Dame, and its stone reconstruction was ordained in 1414, completed in 1421. Lined with about thirty houses on each side, the bridge collapsed in 1499 due to poor maintenance. Those responsible, including aldermen and the provost of merchants, were tried and imprisoned. A stone bridge, authorized by the king, replaced it, with a ferry temporarily connecting the banks during construction. Completed in 1512 by an architect friar, the bridge underwent several improvements and repairs. To improve circulation, houses on the banks were demolished in the sixteenth century. It underwent repairs in 1659 and in 1769, letters patent were issued to create sidewalks and parapets, with work completed in 1786. The Notre-Dame Bridge is Paris’s oldest bridge.