Bir Hakeim Bridge: One of the most beautiful in Paris

Bir Hakeim Bridge is one of the most romantic bridges in Paris, an alluring, exotic Belle Époque beauty which also happens to have some of the best views of the Eiffel Tower you’ll ever find.

This is my guide to this stunning bridge, one that millions of visitors to Paris will have passed and missed, having eyes only for the Eiffel Tower just upstream.

It’s one of those concealed in plain sight hidden gems of Paris, one you should definitely set aside a few minutes to visit for its views and also its evocative architecture.

In this article I tell you all about the bridge’s history, how to get there and what to see (apart from the Eiffel Tower!) nearby. Enjoy.

Bir-Hakeim Bridge is one of the most beautiful bridges in Paris – we’d suggest it’s a close run thing with the Pont Alexandre III as to whether it is the most beautiful bridge in the city.

It’s architecturally unique, with a road, footpath and cycle track on one level and an upper deck carrying a railway – line 6 of the Paris Metro.

It also offers some of the best Eiffel Tower views, either with the steel arches framing the Tower or from the France Renascente statue.  

The Bir Hakeim Bridge is also the one place in Paris from which you can see the Eiffel Tower from a Metro train.

Bir Hakeim Bridge is also very popular with photographers, and many couples also choose it as a location for a Paris wedding or pre-wedding shoot.

Some movie fans may also be interested in visiting Bir-Hakeim Bridge. It has most famously been used as a location for some scenes in the futuristic 2010 film Inception, which starred Leonardo Di Caprio, and the nauseating Last Tango In Paris from 1972, which starred Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider.

See Also: 15 Famous Paris Bridges To Explore

The Bir-Hakeim Bridge is the second bridge on the site, replacing an earlier bridge built for the Exposition Universelle (World Fair) in 1878.

Originally called the Pont de Passy after the suburb on the right bank of the Seine, the bridge was built between 1903 and 1905 by Jean-Camille Formigé. This architect was responsible for another bridge in Paris, the Viaduc d’Austerlitz, and also restored two of the most famous Roman monuments in France, the Theatre in Orange and the Amphitheatre in Arles.

The Bridge was renamed after the Battle of Bir-Hakeim, which took place in Libya in May and June 1942 between Free French and British forces and the German Panzerarmee and Italian forces under the command of ‘Desert Fox’ General Erwin Rommel. The name Bir-Hakeim means ‘old man’s well’.

Some web articles on the Bir Hakeim Bridge state that the Free French won a ‘victory’ at Bir Hakeim. This is not the case. However, the Free French fought courageously, holding off German forces for over two weeks, and forcing them to postpone plans to attack Malta.

The Bir Hakeim battle gave the Free French a huge morale boost after the capitulation to the Nazis in June 1940 and the subsequent collaboration with the occupying forces. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill renamed the Free French the Fighting French because of their battlefield heroics.

The Bir-Hakeim bridge is 500 metres south-west of and downstream from the Eiffel Tower.

It links the 15^th and 16^th arrondissements (administrative districts) of the city.  

Bir-Hakeim Bridge is very easy to reach. The Bir Hakeim Metro (line 6) and the adjacent RER line C station Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel are the most popular arrival points for the Eiffel Tower, and are usually very busy.

The Paris Metro Line 6 is the best way to reach the Pont de Bir-Hakeim because you can travel across its upper deck and get a superb view of the Eiffel Tower. It is between Bir-Hakeim and Passy stations, and you can take the ride across the river just for the pleasure of the view.

You can board the line 6 train from its terminus at Charles de Gaulle-Étoile, next to the Arc de Triomphe, and it’s just five stops from there to the Bir-Hakeim Metro stop.

RATP bus 30 also stops very close to the two stations and the Bir-Hakeim Bridge (alight at the Bir Hakeim stop). This runs from Pigalle, passing Parc Monceau and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées before crossing there Pont d’Iéna below the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower is the obvious reason most people come to this part of Paris. It’s only 500 metres’ walk from the bridge, the Champs de Mars – Tour Eiffel RER station and the adjoining Bir-Hakeim Metro stop.

Bir-Hakeim Bridge is one of the best places to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the views as you approach are tremendous. If you have kids with you (as I had mine) be sure to walk across the street to the famous Eiffel Tower carousel, close to the Pont d’Iéna bridge.

The Eiffel Tower is top of many visitors’ Paris bucket list, and you get some incredible views over the city. The summit is over 300 metres above ground level, and is well worth the ride, though I’d say that the second floor possibly has better views.

There are currently four replicas of the Statue of Liberty in Paris, and the most famous – and visible – of these is  a ten-minute walk away on the Ile aux Cygnes (Isle of Swans) in the middle of the river Seine, beneath the Pont de Grenelle.

It’s a short, easy walk along the man-made island, and the statue is at the very end of the island, just beyond the Pont de Grenelle bridge.

The Pont de Bir-Hakeim is named after one of the French army’s most heroic battles, but is also very close to one of the most shameful sites in French history.  It’s the location of the former Vélodrome d’Hiver, an indoor sports stadium used by Nazi occupants and collaborating French authorities to round up thousands of foreign Jewish families.

The appalling Vel d’Hiv roundup (which took place on July 16^th and 17^th 1942) is one of the worst episodes in modern French history, and the victims were taken from there to the Drancy internment camp on the outskirts of Paris before being deported to the death camps in Poland. A memorial garden and sculpture stand on the site.