Passerelle Mornay bridge in Paris
This is a very little known foot bridge in Paris that actually crosses a canal rather than the River Seine, and hence why it is not often mentioned, but provides a lovely view of the Port de l’Arsenal.
About the Passerelle Mornay Bridge
It was back at the start of the 1800s during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte that the Canal Saint-Martin was constructed to provide a link from the River Seine to the Canal de l’Ourcq, which was to allow goods and materials to be transported more easily across Paris.
And at the same time, the Port de l’Arsenal was also constructed within the basin to allow for easier unloading and loading of goods being shipped by barge, which was eventually finished in 1825.
Yet this also meant that negotiating over the Canal Saint-Martin had to be considered, and bridges in Paris such as the Pont Morland were constructed and there are some places that state the Passerelle Mornay was constructed when the Port de l’Arsenal was finished, whereas other places state that it was not put in place until 1895.
But what is certain, is that it is a metal bridge, known in architectural terms as a truss bridge, which was designed purely for pedestrians in order to cross from the eastern bank where the Jardin du Port de l’Arsenal is located over to the western bank. And the name chosen was because it passes over the Rue Mornay Street.
However, this bridge in Paris is also a fantastic place to view the Port de l’Arsenal Marina in Paris, which since the 1980s has become a leisure marina, where you will find around 200 pleasure craft moored, and past this in the same direction you can see the lock and the Pont Morland bridge.
Yet if you turn around, in the opposite direction you have the Place de la Bastille, which is the square in Paris where the canal travels under, and this square is home to the Colonne de Juillet, or July Column as it translates to in English, which can be seen from the Passerelle Mornay.
Visiting the Passerelle Mornay Bridge in Paris
As we mentioned earlier, the Passerelle Mornay footbridge goes over the Port de l’Arsenal, and it goes from the Boulevard Bourdon, which is in the 4th Arrondissement over to the Boulevard de la Bastille, which is situated in the 12th Arrondissement.
When it come to public transport in Paris and getting to this pedestrian bridge, the nearest Metro stations are the Quai de la Rapee stop serving line 5 that is close to the Pont Morland and the River Seine or you have the Bastille stop serving lines 1, 5 and 8 by the Place de la Bastille.
Yet there are also the bus lines 20, 29, 65, 87 and 91 along with the Noctilien Night Bus Service via lines N01, N11 and N16 that will also get you within easy walking distance of the Passerelle Mornay footbridge.
