The Seine river

The Seine (pronounced "sen") is a major river of northern France, forming the country's chief commercial waterway. It is also a tourist attraction, particularly within the city of Paris.

The river is 780 km (485 miles) long, France's second longest (after the Loire which is 1020 km (634 miles) long). In ancient times the Seine was known by the Latin name Sequana.

The Seine's main tributaries are the Aube, Marne and Oise rivers from the north and the Yonne and Eure rivers from the south. It is connected with canals to the Scheldt (also called the Escaut), Meuse, Rhine, Saône and Loire rivers.

The Seine rises in the French région of Burgundy, in the département of Côte-d'Or, 30 km (18 miles) northwest of Dijon at a height of 471 metres (1545 feet). The river then flows through Troyes to Paris.
In Paris, narrowed between high stone embankments, the river carries commercial barges, waterbuses and large tourist boats (bateaux-mouches). From the water, fine views are seen of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay (housing Paris' collection of Impressionist art), the Conciergerie and the Eiffel Tower. The northern side of the river is described as the Right Bank (Rive Droite) and the southern side as the Left Bank (Rive Gauche).

Pont Mirabeau

The bridge spans the Seine from the 15th arrondissement (left bank), to the 16th arrondissement. It links rue de la Convention and place Mirabeau, on the left bank, to rue de Rémusat. On the left side, upstream, is the gare de Javel of the RER, line C. The bridge is served by the Paris Metro stations Mirabeau and Javel - André Citroën.

History

The decision to create a new bridge to the right of the junction created by avenue de Versailles and rue Mirabeau, was taken by the French President Sadi Carnot on 12 January 1893. The bridge was designed by the engineer Paul Rabel, responsible for the bridges of Paris, assisted by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby, and built by Daydé & Pillé.

Architecture

The principal arch has a span of 93 meters, and the two lateral arches 32,4 m. The one on the right bank spans the road, while the one of the left bank spans the quay and extends the link over the RER railway. At the time of its construction, this was the longest and highest bridge in Paris. The bridge is 173 meters long, 20 m. wide (the roadway measures 12 m., and the two pavements 4 m. each).
The two piles represent boats. The one closest to the right bank shows the Seine flowing downstream, while the one on the left shore shows her going upstream. These boats are decorated with four allegorical statues by Jean Antoine Injalbert (named an officer of the Légion d'honneur on the day of the bridge's inauguration) : "The City of Paris" (prow of the boat on the right bank), "Navigation" (stern), "Abundance" (prow of the boat of the left bank) and "Commerce" (stern). The two allegories on the prow ("Paris" and "Abundance") face the Seine, while the two stern allegories ("Navigation" and "Commerce") face the bridge.
The four statues are surmounted, at the level of the parapet, by the coat of arms of the City of Paris.
At its end on the Rive Droite, one can descend towards the road on bank by two stairways (one downstream, one upstream), while on the left bank one can descend towards the Port autonome de Paris by two ramps (one downstream, one upstream).

In the arts

Le Pont Mirabeau is a poem by Guillaume Apollinaire, in the anthology Alcools.
Brassens refers to it in his song Les Ricochets.
Le Pont Mirabeau is a song by Marc Lavoine that came out in 2001.

Beaugrenelle district

Front de Seine (also known as Beaugrenelle) is a district in Paris, France, located along the river Seine in the 15th arrondissement right at the South of the Eiffel Tower. It is with the 13th arrondissement and La Défense, one of the districts hosting the most highrise buildings in the Paris area.

The Front de Seine district is the result of an urban planning project from the 1970s. It includes about 20 towers reaching nearly 100 meters of height built all around an elevated espalanade. That esplanade is paved with frescos that can only be seen from the elevated floors of the towers. As opposed to Italie 13, the design of the towers is a lot more varied with, for instance, the Hôtel Novotel Paris-Tour Eiffel (formerly known as Hôtel Nikkō) with its red-encircled windows or the Tour Totem, which consists in a stack of several glassed-blocks.
Furthermore, while 13th arrondissement towers are predominantly residential and La Défense towers are predominantly commercial, the towers from the Front de Seine are of mixed commercial and residential use.

High-rise buildings

Among the tallest towers in the district, we can find rising to 98 meters:
Tour Avant-Seine (1975): 98 m, 32 storeys.
Tour Mars (1974): 98 m, 32 storeys.
Tour Paris Côté Seine (1977): 98 m, 32 storeys.
Tour Seine (1970): 98 m, 32 storeys
Tour Espace 2000 (1976): 98 m, 31 storeys.
Tour Évasion 2000 (1971): 98 m, 31 storeys.
Hôtel Novotel Paris-Tour Eiffel (1976): 98 m, 31 storeys.
Tour Totem (1979): 98 m, 31 storeys.
Tour Beaugrenelle (1979): 98 m, 30 storeys.
Tour Panorama (1974): 98 m, 30 storeys.
Tour Perspective 1 (1973): 98 m, 30 storeys.
Tour Perspective 2 (1975): 98 m, 30 storeys.
Tour Reflets (1976): 98 m, 30 storeys.
Tour Rive Gauche (1975): 98 m, 30 storeys.
Tour Keller (1970): 98 m, 29 storeys.
Tour Cristal (1990): 98 m, 27 storeys.
79 quai André Citroën: 24 storeys.
Tour Mirabeau (1972): 18 storeys.
Immeuble le Village (1973): 17 storeys.
Bureaux Hachette Livre (1969): 12 storeys.
Tour Mercure (1973): 12 storeys.

Other Structures
Cheminée du Front de Seine (1971): 130 meters