The New Look to the Oldest “New Bridge” in Paris

I’m on a train to Nice as you read this. It’s been a while since being there and I’ve missed it. While Paris was cold and rainy, my Niçois friends were rubbing it in that the weather there was perfect. Then, it turned perfect in Paris this past weekend, too, so the jealousy went away.

While I am focused on Paris and Nice as my two homes, we’re expanding beyond these two French cities and into the hinterlands…all of the rest of France. To set the pace, Jennifer Parrette, our new Adrian Leeds Group Regional Manager, and I, led a webinar Thursday evening titled “Get to Know the Rest of France: The Best Places to Live and Why.” A few hundred folks tuned in to learn our opinions on the subject.

I’m an urbanite and never want to live outside of center. So much so, that even within a city, I prefer to be drop dead in the thick of it all. But, lots of people think I’m nuts and don’t understand why I love the chaos. It gives me energy and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jennifer, on the other hand, is a country girl at heart and has always loved the peace and quiet of a more idyllic life. So, it’s a perfect job for her…and a perfect marriage for us.

We spent a lot of time discussing the outline of the webinar before producing it and offering up our suggestions. It all starts with very important criteria that help people make this important decision. We can’t stress this enough. Falling in love with every town and village you visit is highly predictable. It’s France, for crying out loud. You can expect it to win your hearts, but will that beautiful village really fulfill your dreams?

We took the eight criteria and then matched French cities and regions with those factors we believe are the most important to a happy new life in France. It wasn’t easy. There was quite a bit of debate, keeping Paris as #1 and Nice as #2…then, where else in France should one consider?

Some of our clients have used AI to tell them what course to take, but we’ve discovered that’s full of “hallucinations”—the system generates information that sounds convincing, but is false, invented, distorted, or unsupported by reality. As much as I love using AI for all sorts of things, including brilliant travel plans, this isn’t where you want to depend on a false brain to do the thinking for you.

It’s a big topic. We could have gone on for hours, as there are too many fabulous places in France to chose from, but not many that actually fit the criteria. That’s a much narrower list. I won’t divulge them here. You’ll have to watch the video recording…that is, if you signed up. We’re making it available only through May 31st to all those who registered for the webinar. After that, either we can consult with you directly or you can wait until we do another one…in about three months time.

Meanwhile, we’re also planning to do a webinar about living in Paris and another one about living in Nice…so as not to overlook our top two destinations. And in addition, I am on a mission to get to know the cities on our top list.

June 12th I’m headed to Toulouse to get to know it. It’s been more than 30 years since stepping foot in Toulouse, and its neighbor, Albi. Not much comes to mind other than the lunch we had—that I still remember as the worst meal I’ve ever been served—and the pink bricks that reminded me of New Orleans. You can see why Toulouse deserves a second look.

Stay tuned. If you’d like to join us for drinks together in Toulouse, meet Jennifer Parrette and me at the Grand Café Le Florida, a “brasserie traditionnelle” since 1874, on Sunday, June 14th at 5 p.m. for some fun conversation! Here’s the Google map to find it. This is a chance to get to know one another and for me to hear what you love (or don’t love) about living in Toulouse! Please reserve by emailing me.

LA CAVERNE DU PONT-NEUF

JR has done it again. There are few contemporary artists who capture the spirit of Paris quite like JR.

If you’ve walked through the Cour Napoléon of the Louvre Museum and seen the pyramid disappear into a photographic illusion…if you’ve stood before giant eyes gazing from rooftops in the favelas of Brazil…or if you’ve watched ordinary faces transform bridges, trains, staircases, and entire buildings into works of art, then you already know JR’s extraordinary gift: making us see both people and places differently.

What many may not realize is that JR’s roots are deeply Parisian. Before the museums, the TED Prize, the Oscar nomination, and the international acclaim, he was a young graffiti artist photographing friends in the suburbs of Paris and pasting their oversized portraits illegally onto walls throughout the city. He called himself a photograffeur—part photographer, part street artist—and from those beginnings emerged one of the world’s most recognizable visual storytellers.

What makes JR’s work so compelling isn’t simply its monumental scale. It’s the humanity behind it. His art transforms architecture into emotion. He gives visibility to people often overlooked and asks us to reconsider what—and whom—we truly see.

And yes…this is personal for me. I had the privilege of meeting him at my own daughter’s exhibition in New York, then volunteering with her during JR’s Louvre project, helping bring to life the extraordinary optical illusion that made the iconic pyramid seemingly vanish into the historic façade behind it. Watching the installation unfold was unforgettable. What appeared effortless in photographs was in reality an immense choreography of people, precision, timing, weather, paper, and vision. It reminded me that the greatest public art doesn’t merely decorate a city—it temporarily changes how we inhabit it.

Photo by Erica Simone of JR at the Louvre Project

That may be why JR feels so quintessentially French to me. France has always excelled at turning public space into cultural conversation. A bridge is never just a bridge. A square is never simply functional. In Paris especially, art spills out of museums and into daily life. JR continues that tradition in a profoundly modern way—using photography, illusion, participation, and social media to create fleeting moments of collective wonder.

His newest project now brings that vision to the oldest bridge in Paris, the Pont Neuf. Titled La Caverne du Pont-Neuf, the installation transforms the historic bridge into what appears to be a massive rocky grotto or cave emerging from the heart of the Seine. The work is immersive, theatrical, and slightly surreal—very much in keeping with JR’s fascination with illusion and perception. Visitors won’t simply walk across the bridge; they’ll move through an experience that blurs the line between architecture, cinema set, sculpture, and dreamscape.

The project looks complete from the outside, but entry won’t happen until June 6th. One can only imagine that the interior walls are currently under construction, while we observers can take it in from the quays and bridges along the Seine. Saturday, April Pett, of April in Paris Tours, and I, walked along the river’s edge to get as good a view as possible. It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day in Paris. The cavern looked more like a snowy mountain than a rocky landscape. That alone was worth every glimpse…in anticipation of when it’s fully open to the public to experience it inside out.

The project is a deeply affectionate tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose legendary wrapping of the Pont Neuf in 1985 became one of the most iconic public art installations Paris has ever seen. For many Parisians, Christo’s wrapped Pont Neuf remains etched in memory as a moment when the city itself became art. JR’s reinterpretation acknowledges that legacy while making it unmistakably his own.

This time, instead of fabric wrapping the bridge, JR creates the illusion of a monumental cavern, inspired in part by Plato’s allegory of the cave—a meditation on perception, illusion, and reality. Sound design by Thomas Bangalter, formerly of Daft Punk, adds another sensory layer to the experience, making the installation feel cinematic and immersive rather than simply visual.

What I find particularly moving is JR’s understanding that Paris itself is not a static museum piece. The city remains alive because artists continue to reinterpret it. In his hands, the Pont Neuf becomes not just a monument from the past, but a living stage for imagination and shared experience.

Like Christo before him, JR understands something essential about France: temporary beauty can leave permanent memories. And perhaps that is why his work resonates so deeply with those of us who love France. It celebrates beauty, humanity, spectacle, philosophy, and collective participation all at once—very much the essence of French life itself.

“The project is facilitated by L’Amicale des Ponts de Paris endowment fund. The installation is not using any government sources and will be funded by the sale of JR’s works along with private support including Snap Inc., Bloomberg Philanthropies, Paris Aéroport and Salesforce. It’s open and accessible free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It will also be possible to view it from a multitude of viewpoints, whether walking or cycling, from the banks of the Seine, the high quays and a series of nearby bridges, as well as from the water thanks to riverboat services, river shuttles and cruises on the Seine.”

Don’t miss it. I made a point of seeing it from a distance on Saturday. The best way to experience La Caverne du Pont-Neuf is not just to “see” it once, but to approach it several different ways because the project changes dramatically depending on perspective, light, and movement.

My advice? Don’t just “see” JR’s La Caverne du Pont-Neuf—experience it.

Go about an hour before sunset and stay through twilight, when the light softens, the Seine begins to shimmer, and the whole illusion becomes more cinematic. Approach from the Right Bank near La Samaritaine and cross slowly toward the Left Bank for the best reveal.

Then see it again from below, along the quais near the western tip of Île de la Cité, where the scale and the interaction with the river will be most dramatic.

Even better, take a Seine cruise at dusk or after dark—Vedettes du Pont Neuf would be ideal—so the cavern appears and shifts as you move with the water.

And don’t rush to photograph it. Walk it first. Listen. Look up. Watch the people watching it. JR’s work is never just about the image—it’s about perception, participation, and the fleeting magic of being there.

Thank you, JR, for bringing the oldest bridge in Paris, known as the “New Bridge,” to life for all of us.

LA NUIT DES MUSEES

Saturday night was the 22nd edition of the Nuit Européenne des Musées—one of the best nights of the year in Paris if you love culture, atmosphere, and the feeling that the whole city has turned into a giant open-air salon. More than 80 museums in Paris alone were open and free late into the night, many with special performances, concerts, projections, DJs, tours, and installations created specifically for the night.

The magic of Nuit des Musées is not just the museums themselves, it’s Paris after dark: people wandering from museum to museum, spontaneous crowds, courtyards glowing with light, music spilling into the streets, and museums feeling alive instead of formal. It’s one of the rare nights where Paris becomes simultaneously intellectual, festive, and democratic.

We chose to take in the Martin Parr exhibition at the Jeu de Paume before it’s last day on Sunday. I’d seen it before, but this was a last chance for my photographer daughter to have as much fun perusing it as I had. (Read all about it in a past Nouvellettre®.) My friend and I roared at every image…and we all did again on Saturday night.

I hope you didn’t miss it.

APRES-MIDI IN NICE THIS WEEK

Nice is getting my attention because Thursday afternoon, May 28th, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Oscar Restaurant (15 rue Masséna in Nice), Billy Linville, Public Affairs and Strategic Communications professional, will be talking about “The Future of American Politics and What it Means for Expats Living in France.”

Billy is working with clients such as Delta Air Lines, Blackstone, Atlanta Braves, Tesla Motors, Millicom, Atlanta Hawks, American Bar Association, American Cancer Society, RaceTrac, American Medical Response, Invest Atlanta, CIM, and Atlanta Public Schools—a pretty serious list of American businesses. Described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a longtime Atlanta P.R. guru and the Atlanta Magazine as a P.R. whiz, he is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Lexicon Strategies, a leading public affairs consulting firm, focusing on public relations, government affairs, media relations, crisis communication, social impact, and strategic communication. Billy is also a co-founder and managing partner of Connexion South, an economic development and cultural exchange firm, located in Valbonne, France.

Billy and his wife, Sherry, now reside full time in Nice. If anyone can attack this subject, it’s him! Don’t miss the event. You’ll find all the details on our website.

No need to email or register in advance, but we do recommend arriving about 15 minutes ahead to get a good seat. And please plan on ordering at least one drink to thank the establishment for use of their wonderful space!

MEET THE AUTHORS

Saturday, May 30th, from 3 to 5:30 p.m., join fFounder and host Ella Dyer upstairs at Le Carré d’Or in Nice to meet a group of local authors, and to discover their books and their stories. They will talk about their recent works, read a bit from them, and answer your questions. You will have an opportunity to purchase their books and get signed copies!

Doors open at 2:45 p.m.
Le Carré d’Or
1 Place Magenta (upstairs)
06000 Nice

Emcee of the event is Lisa Anselmo, author, speaker, coach, and branding expert who will also share her own experiences. Authors may have their books for purchasing and signing, but to be sure, you may want to pre-order your copy and bring it with you for your own personal signed copy!

Participation is free (but we ask that you purchase at least one drink to show the host venue how much we appreciate their hospitality). Don’t miss this special event in Nice!

Visit our site for more information.

I hope to see you all there!

A la prochaine…