SEINE, Second Part
Language: English / USA
Considering how you're sailing against the river's natural current, keep in mind that all the names are backwards: for example, the famous Rive Gauche, which is the left bank of the Seine, is actually on your right!
The stretch of the river you're currently passing through is one of impressionism enthusiasts' favorites. Shortly after Concorde Bridge you can see see the Orangerie on your left, which is the ancient greenhouse of the Tuileries gardens, whose museum proudly displays part of the famous Waterlilies painting cycle by Claude Monet.
On the river bank on the opposite side you can see the great Orsay Station built in the year 1900, which today is the home of the Musée d'Orsay dedicated to late 19th-century art.
The station is preceded by a pedestrian walkway on the Seine, the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor Bridge located in front of the elegant eighteenth-century palace that has been the location of the Legion of Honor since 1804; this prestigious award is the greatest honor awarded by France to important figures from the world of culture.
At the end of Quai des Tuileries, you'll find the Pont Royal alongside the Flora Pavilion, where the Louvre palace starts. More specifically, the part facing the Seine is called "Denon", and largely holds the 460-meter long Grand Galerie designed by King Henry IV at the beginning of the 17th century. Later, halfway along the Grande Galerie, you'll will pass under the Pont du Carrousel.
While the Louvre's wing that runs parallel to the Seine continues on your left, you're approaching the Pont des Arts, which takes its name from the nearby Academy of Fine Arts set in a nineteenth-century palace that incorporates architectural fragments of the older buildings that once stood there. The palace with a dome that you see at your right in front of the bridge is the Institut de France, a prestigious college for the children of aristocracy that Cardinal Richelieu wanted and his successor Mazzarino commissioned. Mazzarino not only donated his personal library to the college, he's also buried there. Notice how its façade creates a harmonious "pendant" with the entrance of the Square Court of the Louvre on the other side of the bridge.
The Institut de France is joined with the vast eighteenth century building to your right, which is the home of the Zecca, or Hotel des Monnaies. It is distributed around eight internal courtyards and is still used for the production of particular or precious coins.
FUN FACT: just like the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor Bridge, the Pont des Arts is also only for pedestrians. Its sleek metallic structure dates back to Napoleon's era and is very famous among lovers, who have taken the habit of attaching a padlock to its balconies as a sign of fidelity.
