Can This Really Be True?
 

Fodor's has a picture in its Top 15 Destinations for Europe of One of the grotesque vandalized bridges of Paris with all the cheap locks? It features prominently - the first pic when you sign in. Disgusting! It's under "Editor's Pick." Even more horrible. What the hell are they thinking?

StCirq, this might help you understand the locks: http://www.bonjourparis.com/story/pa...that-wont-die/

I think StCirq understands. The points is that it just vandalizes a beautiful bridge. I agree with StCirq.

I don't want to "understand" the locks. Sorry. It's vandalism, IMO, and grotesque.

I totally agree StCirq. I think it is hideous and appalling.

What if you have dreadlocks or bagels and lox?

It would be frightening if people over the age of 15 do this. We should be grateful Fodor's doesn't put father/daughter abstinence dances in their American books.

Locks are no better than tagging, probably more destructive to the structure.

It's a very dangerous "fashion", not only for the idiots who are now climbing down onto the lower levels, or up higher to attach the vile locks, but also because the locks rust and are causing serious issues with the actual structure of the bridge(s) . It's much more serious than tagging.

St Cirq, a blogger, Lisa Taylor Huff, has just started a project with another blogger called NO LOVE LOCKS, to quote

"in order to find ways to educate those who might be tempted to put a lock on these bridges, and to partner with the city of Paris to support any efforts to remove the locks, repair the bridges, restore the views and find better ways to help people make special memories in our city."

All power to her, I say. Apparently the idea of attaching a lock is even mentioned in the ubiquitous Rick Steve's guidebook to Paris - and not in a negative way! Ugh!

It's spreading all over the place. I've seen them in Chester and I'm sure they have arrived in other UK cities

Italy (Cinque Terra), Spain (Salamanca), San Juan,Puerto Rico and I'm sure elsewhere..Not a great idea at all!!!

Agree - all those locks are a blight on the cityscape - and should be removed - for safety reasons if nothing else. How is this different from grafitti?

The locks a bit yukky but if the French wanted to remove them they would have done so by now I suppose. Who is Lisa Taylor Huff? The Queen of Paris or something?

I'm not sure what there would be to understand the "locks" as said before simply vandalism. Fodor comes at travel from a different perspective that many of us and I have seen so many of their tour books absolutely using scare tactics about crime in certain cities...if I took Fodor serious I would never go anywhere. In many of their books for a country they leave off some of the best areas...if Americans are not the primary tourists in an area Fodor does not include it. Guess they make money and I'm sure even more tourists will flock to the locks after seeing this.

This seems to occur all over the world.

Do a search for "List of locations with love locks" and you will be surprised with how many there are, including the Brooklyn Bridge.

Do a search for "List of locations with love locks" and you will be surprised with how many there are, including the Brooklyn Bridge.

I am moving out of the City.

Thanks for posting this - we saw them in Berlin too and I hate them more with every city.
Think of all those keys rusting in the river bottoms...

Wow, I had never considered what a serious problem this could be. We saw them at a ferry landing on Lake Como. But I'm still inclined to think that considering all the trouble "yewts" could get up to, perhaps this one is not so bad?!

While we are at it any chance of taking away the plastic boxes that people insist on playing with in restaurants?

I saw them in Wroclaw (Poland) and recently the Showtime series "Homeland" showed lovers' locks on a fence. I'm sure lots of people will be inspired by that and locks will start showing up all over, even when there is no bridge.

The things are stuck on the railings around Lecce ampitheatre, the town hall go out and bolt-crop them off each year.

The stupid, destructive things people do to express their love. Ostensibly in the name of art? What a pity for some that love has such insignificant meaning.

Someone last year posted photos of locks in Paris that were on statues. So disrespectful. They are also polluting the Seine when they toss the keys into it.
Fodors should remove that photo. It leads to encouraging others to follow.

I'm going to complain to Fodors! Let's all do it.

St Cirq, I can't find that photo; could you please post a link?

I meant to write insignificant and trite.

They were in Florence in 2009 on the Ponte Vecchio and on some chains separating the road from the sidewalk along the river too.

bvlenci, when I sign on to Fodors (actually, I don't sign on; it's set in my regular viewing window, but IF I did sign on), the first thing I see at http://www.fodors.com/ is a photo of two young people on one of those bridges fouled by "love locks" under the heading of "Editor's Pick. The 15 Most Romantic Getaways Around the World." The picture fast-forwards through the entire 15, but the first one, if I'm not mistaken, is one of the bridges in Paris.

It is the first picture.

It is the Pont des arts, and the worse part of it is that it is a terrible picture that seems to tout the locks rather than the site itself.

What ever happened to just carving your initials into a tree?

What ever happened to just carving your initials into a tree?
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They were all cut down to make guide books for tourists.

I see it; thanks! I've already complained, using the "contact us" page. I don't know if they read all of these, but if a lot of people complain, they'll probably notice.

<<worse part of it is that it is a terrible picture that seems to tout the locks rather than the site itself.>>

I totally agree. And I'm complaining, too. This really riles me.

A chacun a son gout - Fodor's editors and I think alike - the locked bridges are wonderful and unique - yet some folks disdain anything out of the ordinary as a sacrilege - much ado about nothing or in this case something that many open minded folks find delightful.

Kudos to the editors for daring to do something like that - but I suspect they represent the feelings of most general tourists and not some culture snobs.

My assumption is that the editors are unaware of the controversy surrounding the custom. They see it as a popular tourist activity, which it is. I doubt they were being daring at all, and that is probably the last thing they would want people saying about them.

It is not unique, as pointed out by several posts. It did not start in Paris, it just caught on there as part of a growing trend around the world.

Posts like this one will hopefully educate both the editors and the public that there is a problem surrounding this kind of activity.

When we were kids we would throw our sneakers onto the telephone line at the end of the school year. They are still doing this 50 years later and now is depicted as part of the local color as on a Brooklyn Nets t-shirt.

http://www.fanatics.com/NBA_Brooklyn...cagpspn=pla%22
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Although I think the practice postpubescent romantic non-sense, people like to things to be their own. Every generation thinks they invented sex and protest and this is no different.

Kudos to the editors for being tasteless idiots. One would expect them to have some level of respect for public edifices.

And agree - this is similar to the sneaker throwers - perhaps sensible to 12 year olds - but not adults in a position of responsibility.

I would support a fund to simply remove all of the locks - and anyone caught putting a lock on should have to pay to have 5 removed.

Locks on bridges aren't anything new - I first saw them in Central Europe some 5-6 years ago, and the habit has gradually spread westward and now very definitely includes London and other UK cities. I don't know about France, but in Germany the local councils remove the locks on a regular basis, but they keep reappearing. Whether that's from the same couples swearing enduring love and installing replacements or different ones, I've never been able to discover.

nytraveler, have you signed this?

https://www.change.org/petitions/the...storic-sites-2

Why does anyone need to send a petition to a city official about something I am sure they already know about? Does the petition do something to give them an answer? "Banning" something really works like all those "bans" on graffiti.