Ile des Cygnes
The Île des Cygnes is a
long, narrow artificial island near the Eiffel Tower, with things worth seeing
at each end.
At the
North end is the PONT DE BIR-HAKEIM, originally the Viaduc de Passy.
It is a double-decker bridge,
an ordinary stone bridge with another iron one built on top to take the metro.
This particular line
runs round the North of Paris and is built for long stretches on a continuous
bridge above the boulevards;
which is why it’s called the Metro and not the
Underground.
At the
other end of the island is the Statue of Liberty. Not the original, no. The
French offered the big statue to the USA for giving them the idea of having a
Revolution.
It was
designed by a sculptor called Bartholdi and cast in sections in his studio.
(When they put it together they had to take the roof off.)
The original model, six feet tall, is in the Musée des
Techniques. Then the bits went off to New York and were assembled at the
entrance of the harbour.
In return, the Americans made a thirty-foot copy and
sent it to France, where it stands here at the entrance to the port of Paris - a
busy harbour, though it takes only barges.
Opposite the Île des Cygnes on the right bank is the
round, white Maison de l’ORTF, the original French TV centre.
