Hello,
I%26#39;m going to propose to my girlfriend in paris next week...I%26#39;ve never been before but it is a very special place for her. In fact, her favorite place is (as I understand it) a small park on the western tip of ile de la cite, beneath the pont neuf. If I remember the story correctly, this is where she used to go to relax with a bottle of wine and baguette when she lived there.
can anyone please confirm whether one can access this park, and from where? are there stairs down from the pont neuf? Any detail you can give me about this place would be very helpful.
Thanks for your help.
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CONGRATS!!!
You can walk down the steps located right next to the huge Henri IV statue in the middle of the Pont Neuf. There will be a gate right in front of the park to get in. I think it may close at dusk....just to let you know!
Good luck
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Another quick FYI....
A small right turn at the bottom of the steps will take you to the landing where the Vendettes Pont Neuf(i think that is correct) departs for Seine boat rides....in case you may want sneak in a ride before or after you pop the question!!!
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This is where Hemingway says, in A Moveable Feast, that he used to go watch and talk to the fishermen. He never fished because it would have taken too much time from his writing.
Pjk
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The park is called SQUARE du VERT GALLANT----and as noted, the stairs down from Pont Neuf are tucked away behind the large equestrain statue of HENRI IV.
One of our favorite strolls in Paris is down along the Left Bank quais along the Seine and under the bridges, from Pont de Sully (at Pont de Sully / quai de Tournelle / Blvd. Saint Germain) to Pont des Arts. To get to Square du Vert Gallant, you have to come up to street level at Pont Neuf and then back down the steps behind Henri IV. It%26#39;s worth noting that this stretch of the Seine made even Woody Allen look like the very model of the %26#39;..handsome, romantic leading man..%26#39;. in %26quot;Everyone Says I Love You%26quot;.
As I recall there is a fire boat station just across on the Left Bank shore....and perhaps (from a sense of romance?) you can prevail upon the firemen there to sound their sirens and shoots jets of water into the air when the lady says YES ??
Perhaps some of these photos will help--
http://www.crusader.org.uk/jdm/index.html
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DO NOT forget to wash down all that romance with a few glasses of top-of-hill wine in the basement wine-bar TAVERNE HENRI IV right opposite the stairs down to the park/square.
it is such a cozy place and it inspires this golden, satisfied feel of knowing that the host is so good at his trade and that the diplomas on the wall are there for a reason. They have very nice cheese and charcuterie plates to go with the wine. (Notice: NOT the other way round.....!)
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The actual park is surrounded by the riverbank. The park closes at about 10 pm. or so (there is a green space with benches, etc., very nice). But you can still access the riverbank.
Keep in mind the area there is CROWDED with people, and some of them are rather inebriated. It might be more romantic and private in the actual park.
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The Seine sightseeing cruises operated by VEDETTES du PONT NEUF also depart from and return to the quai down there as well--
VEDETTES du PONT NEUF--
http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/
2 Euro per person Internet Discount Coupon--
www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/reduction.htm
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