Course des Lumières crosses Alexandre III Bridge on 21 November
Published on 10/24/2026 at 11:32 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSRoute and heritage context
- Course des Lumières starts from Port des Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 November 2026.
- The 2026 programme includes 5km, 10km and walking formats, with the bridge on the route.
- Alexandre III Bridge was built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition and is a listed historic monument.
Alexandre III Bridge forms part of the Course des Lumières route in Paris on 21 November 2026, giving the public event a clearly identified landmark on its course. The evening race and walk start at Port des Champs-Élysées, beside the bridge, and continue through central Paris.
Course des Lumières brings a night route to the bridge
The Course des Lumières is scheduled for Saturday 21 November 2026. The City of Paris lists Port des Champs-Élysées in the eighth arrondissement as the departure point, while the organiser's 2026 programme sets the event from 2.30pm, with departures beginning at 3.30pm.
The programme combines a 5km run, a 5km walk, a 10km run and a new timed 10km format. Participants finish at Port de la Bourdonnais, and the route uses the quays of the Seine. The organiser describes the event as supporting cancer awareness and research through the Institut Curie.
The bridge is not simply a nearby backdrop. The City of Paris records Alexandre III Bridge on both sides of the route area for the event on 21 November, making it a practical reference point for visitors approaching the start. The city event listing confirms the date, departure area and range of formats.
A 1900 bridge links the event to Paris heritage
Alexandre III Bridge crosses the Seine between Paris's seventh and eighth arrondissements. It connects the area around the Invalides with the Grand Palais and the Champs-Élysées, placing the Course des Lumières route among several major monuments and river viewpoints.
The bridge was created for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The City of Paris records that Tsar Nicholas II laid its foundation stone on 7 October 1896, in the presence of French president Félix Faure. Its metal structure is framed by monumental pylons topped with gilded bronze Pegasus figures.
Its decorative metalwork, copper and bronze sculpture, lamps and broad river setting give the November route a direct connection with the exhibition-era landscape of western Paris. The bridge is also a listed historic monument, while the wider banks of the Seine form part of the UNESCO World Heritage property inscribed in 1991. UNESCO identifies the bridge as evidence of the universal exhibitions that shaped Paris in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The heritage setting therefore matters to the event's geography: the course begins beside a bridge designed for a major public exhibition and follows the river corridor that UNESCO describes as a historic urban ensemble. This places the sporting programme within the protected landscape rather than at an isolated stadium.
Visiting Alexandre III Bridge: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Course des Lumières takes place on 21 November 2026. The start area is Port des Champs-Élysées, next to the bridge, with the event beginning from 2.30pm.
- The route includes Alexandre III Bridge and the Seine quays. The programme offers 5km and 10km runs, as well as a 5km walk and a timed 10km option.
- The bridge stands between the seventh and eighth arrondissements, linking the Invalides area with the Grand Palais and the Champs-Élysées.
- Visitors encounter a metal bridge with monumental pylons, gilded bronze Pegasus figures, lamps and sculpture. The structure is a listed historic monument.
- The official language is French and the national currency is the euro.
The event brings a fixed November date to a bridge built for Paris's 1900 exhibition landscape.
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Frequently asked questions about Alexandre III Bridge
When does the Course des Lumières take place at Alexandre III Bridge?
The event takes place on 21 November 2026, with its start area at Port des Champs-Élysées beside the bridge.
Where is Alexandre III Bridge and how do you get there?
It crosses the Seine between Paris's seventh and eighth arrondissements, linking the Invalides area with the Grand Palais and the Champs-Élysées.
What is Alexandre III Bridge?
It is a metal bridge built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition and now listed as a historic monument.
