Thursday, June 27, 2013

Getting a Lock on Love in Paris

Love locks on Pont de l'Archevêché with Notre Dame in the background


Hubby and I are not very romantic. Our 21st wedding anniversary was the day before our trip. His gift to me was Googling "Roses" on his iPhone, finding some pictures of said roses, and showing them to me. I gave him a thermos. Yes, a thermos. Folks, this is what decades of marriage does to a couple. But we turned to each other and said, "Paris! We're going to Paris!" And then we headed to the bedroom to... finish packing our luggage and attempt to get a good night's sleep before our redeye flight the next day.

That's why our visit to the Love Locks bridge in Paris was uncharacteristic for us. It's so very romantic. Brass and nickel are actually the traditional 21st anniversary wedding gift, so I made sure we picked out a brass lock. See, we can play by the rules after all.

My first glimpse of a love locks bridge was during our boat ride on the Seine River. The railings in the distance started glimmering in the afternoon sun. I thought it was some sort of elaborate, guilded ornamentation at first. Nope, it was an array of locks.

A different bridge with love locks


Couples write or engrave their names on a padlock, attach it to the bridge and then throw the key in the Seine. (Note: Combination locks are not as romantic. There's nothing to throw, and they remind me of high school lockers.) The lock symbolizes the permanence of the relationship, at least until the Parisian authorities start moaning about the locks ruining the architectural heritage of the bridges and order them to be cut off. When the big clean up happened to a number of bridges in 2010, the locks immediately started appearing on the Pont de l'Archevêché again. Love triumphs over all!


Celebrating 21 years of marital bliss with a padlock. At least it's not a ball and chain.


When we were there, the bridge was so chock full of locks that it was difficult to find an empty spot to hang our own lock. This is obviously a popular tradition, and you can buy a lock nearby if you forgot to bring one. The kids enjoyed looking for unusual locks such as the one shaped like a turtle. When I saw the one with "Two Drifters Out to See the World" scratched into it, I thought of two backpackers pledging their eternal love right there in the same spot where I was standing.


My son is trying to find the lock we just finished attaching to the bridge.

The kids wanted to hang locks, too but were stymied by the fact that none of them are in a permanent romantic relationship. (Thank goodness!!) Actually, my daughter has her eye on a couple boys, but we claimed hanging multiple locks was not in the spirit of the tradition. My boy suggested hanging one with his name and then "______" next to it for him to come back in the future and fill in. We also nixed that idea. They tried to remember the exact location of hubby's and my lock to show their own kids one day. How sweet!

Love locks are showing up in other parts of Paris. In fact, you can find them all over the world. Perhaps there's one near you.

Love lock on the Eiffel Tower overlooking Paris


This post is part of "Travel Photo Thursday" on Budget Travelers Sandbox, "Oh, the Places I've Been!" on The Tablescaper, "Sunday Traveler" on Ice Cream and Permafrost, and "Friday Daydreamin'" on R We There Yet Mom? Check them out for more around-the-world Travel Inspiration.

20 comments:

  1. There is a similar custom in Japan. Great article :)

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  2. I love that you and your husband have a love lock on a bridge in Paris! I hadn't heard of the phenomenon before our trip to Paris last year when we were blown away by the sight of the bridges. Sadly it was just days before our anniversary but it didn't occur to either of us to buy a lock - we celebrated our 18th anniversary this year so romantic gestures are sometimes lost on us too!

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  3. The love locks are so romantic! I want to go to Paris simply to see the love locks. That's all. Your post had me chuckling. You sound so much like me and my husband. We'll be celebrating our 21st anniversary in a couple weeks. I doubt that my husband will remember it. :) We'll actually be in Honduras on our missions trip at the time and toyed around with the idea of renewing our vows while we were there- after all, the pastor of our church will be on the trip with us. I wonder if I could find somewhere in our remote village to hang a brass lock....probably not a great idea... Happy Anniversary!

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    1. Oh my goodness, you should renew your vows in Honduras. That would be so memorable.

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  4. There were a lot of love locks in Prague last year. I must have a look for my photos. It's nice that you did something so romantic on your big day!

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  5. Wow! That's a lot of locks. We didn't notice nearly as many when I was there in 2005. Maybe they did a big cleanup then as well?

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  6. That was a romantic thing to do. These locks are appearing everywhere (not in our town though).

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  7. Two things: I just blogged about the love locks in Cologne a week or two ago! Also, I have no idea how I missed those locks when I was in Paris. I guess I need to go back.

    And enough about me... happy anniversary (belated)!

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  8. Hi Michelle, the virtual rose from your husband was such a cute gesture:) I love the photos of the two of you in front of the love locks. It was nice that your kids got to witness and appreciate your love-locking ritual. I find lovelocks so romantic.
    My favorite love lock site is the one on the hiking trail in Cinque Terre, Italy. They called that part of the trail the Avenue of Love:)
    Happy Anniversary! Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

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  9. How sweet is that?! I love that you not only went to love locks and celebrate your anniversary, but you also participated! Wow, over 2 decades of marriage--bravo!

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  10. Yes I noticed this is starting to pop up in many places around the country, two decades excellent!
    Come and join my new Monday photo carnival on my travel site!

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  11. I love Paris and that area and your pictures. They bring back such good memory.
    We have a linky party on Thursday, won't you come and join us at:
    http://www.pret-a-vivre.com/2013/06/lets-party-with-super-moon.html

    Thank you and have a beautiful weekend,
    BiTi

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  12. I've heard about this bridge and I definitely plan on going there with my husband and parents for our joint anniversary trip to Paris next spring. Very romantic!

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  13. Happy Anniversary! I think love locks are very cool. Perhaps one of these days, hubby and I will attach one to a bridge somewhere in the world - Paris would be an excellent romantic choice.

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  14. Thank you so much for joining our party Michelle, hope to see you again next week :). Have a lovely week ahead!
    BiTi
    pret-a-vivre.com

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  15. I've been to Paris many times but have never passed that area with the locks! More reasons to return.

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  16. Hey, I would love to reproduce your photo of the love locks in a newspaper in Australia. Can you please email me? tcmcilroy AT gmail dotcom.
    Thanks.

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  17. Great blog , I really love your writing style that you are using for your posts and stuff,

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  18. yes, I am stalking all your paris posts. we are going this spring, and of course there are so many sights on my to do list, but putting a lock on a bridge is right up there, too. your photo in front of all the locks is so cute-I'm going to do that, too!

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  19. I've always loved this concept--never been able to put it into action...yet! I think it's very sweet that your kids tried to remember the exact location--would be an awesome thing to show their kids one day. Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler :)

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