Street · Paris
Henri Castellane's Bicycle Bell, Heard from Five Paris Bridges, Ranked
One bell, five crossings, one clear winner. The man who rings it has not been informed.
By Desmond Achterberg · Thursday, 29 October 2026 · 1 min read
5. Pont des Tanneurs. Flat. The bell arrives and sits down.
4. Passerelle Vautrin. Wind takes it. Two joggers hear a bird.
3. Pont de l'Écluse. Good ring, then a barge horn. Not his fault.
2. Pont Orsolle. Stone arches, four seconds of tail. A man on the quay nods.
1. Pont Marguerite-Loy. The bell goes under the second arch and comes back improved. A woman selling chestnuts stops counting change.
Castellane crossed it at 6:40 and rang once, out of habit. He believes his best bridge is the Tanneurs. Nobody has corrected him.