Eternal Love in paris - Love Locks on the Seine

Ok, so I've been to Paris, and I never knew about the bridges with the padlocks!!

As the story goes, at some point in time, padlocks began appearing on some of the most iconic bridges in Paris. There doesn't seem to be an exact origin nor an exact explanation for why. In the beginning the locks seemed to magically appear, put there secretly, but over time the ritual began to attract lovers from all over the world who delighted in unabashedly displaying their love by attaching padlocks on the bridges as an apparent sign of everlasting and undying love.

The way the ritual goes, is that lovers write their names on a padlock, lock it on the bridge and throw the key into the Seine.

The interesting thing is that as much as the lovers rejoice in this public display of love, the residents of Paris seem to detest it.  In 2010 the Paris Town Hall declared war on the locks and "someone" cut through the wires and removed all the locks.  In a matter of months the locks reappeared in even bigger numbers. There are now about 2,000 love padlocks of all shapes, sizes and colors on the bridges of Paris.

To understand the French view of love

In a recent book, “In Praise of Love,” the French philosopher Alain Badiou reminds us that love implies constant risk. There is no safe, everlasting love. The idea that you can lock two people’s love once and for all, and toss the key, is a puerile fantasy.

A French tour guide was overheard explaining the phenomenon to her enthralled group.

“There are two bridges in Paris with the locks, you must be very careful which bridge you put your lock on because Pont des Arts is for your committed love, while Pont de l'Archevêché is for your lover.”

This may explain why Pont de l'Archevêché is completely packed with locks, while Pont des Arts has plenty of room.

Seems like these locks are a must see. Next time I'm in Paris, I'll definitely plan a visit to the bridges. Just hope the locks will still be there.

Kourtney Kardashian and boyfriend Scott Disick decided to join in an ancient tradition by taking part in an age old tradition in Pont des Art, Paris.

The romantic couple brought a love lock and threw the key into The Seine, showing their eternal affection for one another.

Read the story and check out the pics!