Pont d'Arcole

Today's the day ......................... to cross the Seine

There are so many bridges that cross the River Seine in Paris - and every one has a story to tell.

The first one that you can see here is called the Pont d'Arcole - and it takes you from the magnificent Hôtel-de-Ville across to the Ile de la Cite. Its name - according to the most generally accepted hypothesis - comes from the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole, in which Napoleon defeated the Austrians in 1796.

The big white building with the towers houses the Conciergerie. Its history is much more grisly. It eventually became a prison and during the Revolution it housed over 4,000 prisoners including Marie-Antoinette, who was held in a tiny cell until her execution.

We walked over several bridges today in our exploration of this part of Paris and eventually ended up the Musee de l'Orangerie . This time we had ordered admission tickets on-line before we left the UK - which meant that we could by-pass the enormous queues and get in quickly.................