If a river is a symbol of life, and a bridge is a symbol of change, then the River Seine and its bridges symbolize the life of Paris, where "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose". One thing will never change, and that is the frisson of nostalgia, the romantic flush that overcomes you when you stop on the Pont des Arts and gaze upriver towards the Ile de la Cité, the historic center of Paris that was the home of kings until the 14^th century.

This wooden walkway atop seven steel arches is the natural domain of the kissing couple, intoxicated by the seductive embrace of sky, Seine and sous-entendre.

The bridge offers a lovers'-eye-view of the famous quays, the bouquinistes at their familiar green metal stalls selling posters and old books, the flags of the Samaritaine department store fluttering overhead, and the ever-gratifying Eiffel Tower defining the Parisian skyline to the west.

It is strung between the Institut de France (where you will find the Academie Française busily defending the language of Molière against inroads by the language of Shakespeare) and the Louvre Museum - initially the Palais des Arts, from which the bridge derived its name.

The current structure is among the newest of the French capital's bridges, having been completed in 1984, but it replaced France 's first iron bridge with plans that were as faithful as possible to the original structure, while reducing the arches from nine to seven.

The original Pont des Arts was built in 1804, following nearly three decades after the world's first iron bridge was built over the Severn River in England, an achievement that Napoleon - then only First Consul, with greater ambitions ahead of him - was eager to match.

This bridge had a series of mishaps, including being bombarded in both World Wars and being pummeled by passing river traffic, with serious accidents in 1961 and 1970, with the last straw coming in 1979, when it was hit by a barge and nearly half the structure crashed into the water.

Today its proud replacement offers benches for picnickers and canoodlers, a stage for street performers and a vantage point for artists, as the placid green waters of the Seine swirl along underfoot. Here, the river's flow is barely perceptible, as if to stop time in its tracks. This is timeless Paris .... where the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Gina Doggett also won the 2^nd prize in the Paris Essay Contest for her essay on the Galerie Véro-Dodat.

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This article is republished with the authorization of Paris Eiffel Tower News - a great guide for a Paris vacation. Copyright (c) 2004 Paris Eiffel Tower News - All rights reserved.