Love Without Locks: Why We Shouldn’t Leave Padlocks in Paris (Or, Anywhere)
If you know a little about me or can gather from the name of this blog, you’ll appreciate that I’m a fan of during touristy things when I visit a new destination without actually looking like a tourist.
I’m always encouraging the support of local jobs and businesses when we travel while blending in with locals, as invisible tourism allows you to have an authentic travel experience and helps these people out in the best possible way. Everybody wins!
I do have one exception to doing a touristy thing, however: I’ll never leave love locks in Paris or any cities I visit. Yes, I may be in the minority here. The horror! But why? It would be super romantic to leave a love lock on a bridge during your honeymoon in Paris, right?
Well… Most places I have visited have been with my partner, but we always questioned whether this trend was actually doing more harm than good. In my eyes, this seemingly harmless act is the exact opposite of invisible tourism, which is something I’m very passionate about and the reason why I created my blog.
If you’re interested to learn why leaving padlocks in Paris (or anywhere around the globe) is a bad idea, read on for more!
NOTE: I first wrote this article about leaving padlocks in Paris when I began my blog back in early 2017. What you’re about to read below is an opinion that was in a very small minority at the time. It’s interesting how quickly travel trends can change so I have updated this article to reflect recent events. Here’s why it seems my unpopular truth was (and still is) ahead of the curve!
TIP: This article forms part of my top strategies for to how to be a responsible a tourist, detailing effective tips towards ethical tourism to benefit visitors and locals alike. It also features in my book, How to Not Look Like a Tourist: Unlocking Your Hidden Power for Overtourism Solutions.
Why we shouldn’t leave padlocks in Paris (or anywhere)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from an unromantic grinch. Generally speaking, I do realise most people leaving these love locks on bridges and other structures are well-meaning. They’re caught up in the romance of it all… I get that.
I’m not judging the majority of these people, I mean… It is a nice idea in theory to leave a piece representing you and your lover behind forever, right?
I’m not sure if many people don’t realise or seem to mind that their eternal lock they’re leaving behind is only as eternal as it takes for the padlock to rust or authorities to come along with bolt cutters… Which isn’t very long at all.
Origins of love locks
In my earliest travels back in 2008, it seemed love locks were an emerging trend. I visited 16 countries in Europe that trip and have to admit I can only really remember seeing padlocks in Rome and Paris, they were very few of them. At first I didn’t even know why they were there!
Fast forward to today and this trend has absolutely exploded all over the world. Theories suggest the trend originated someplace in Europe and has now extended to most corners of the globe, even as far as Melbourne, Australia and little Wellington in New Zealand, which is not usually a very touristy destination.
Overloaded: Negative impacts of love locks in Paris
So why haven’t I bothered leaving my mark? It’s true, one individual lock probably isn’t going to make much of a difference. So let’s think of it this way: Paris had 35 million visitors in 2019 alone.
For a moment, imagine if 35 million people all put a lock on a bridge or structure. The extra and unaccounted-for weight will inevitably take a toll and cause irreversible harm to the structure.
Some of these structures are centuries old and people are so swept away by the seemingly romantic gesture that thinking about the long-term damage their lock will do is the last thing on their minds.
These beautiful structures are part of the reasons we visit a city but they will slowly decay by being inundated with rusty locks.
Critics even argue love locks are form of vandalism and I have to agree. Not only do they look ugly and cause damage by rusting over time being exposed to the elements, the keys thrown into the rivers pollute the waterways which leads to poor water quality.
And they also pose a hazard. According to the city of Paris, 65 tonnes of locks were removed from the Pont des Arts in June of 2015, and 35 tonnes from the Pont de l’Archevêché near Notre Dame.
Each section of the guardrail on the Pont des Arts was weighed down by a whopping 330 kilos of locks, and sections would collapse regularly. Paris City Hall decided to take action after a panel of locks on the Pont des Arts collapsed onto the walkway of the bridge, nearly injuring tourists.
Those are some INSANE figures!
Additionally, a centuries-old lamppost on Ponte Milvio in Rome, Italy almost toppled over under the weight of these locks into the river below, prompting authorities to remove the locks as a safety precaution.
Opportunists hold the key to padlocks in Paris (quite literally)
In cities where love locks are popular I absolutely refuse to support local businesses or street vendors who promote and sell locks for this very purpose in exchange for making a quick buck.
Why should we be supportive of people who are happy to accelerate the damage being done to icons in their very own cities? These vendors are opportunists and have a LOT to answer for.
They’re simply preying on people’s emotions rather than exercising common sense. We need to help preserve these destinations, not contribute to their gradual decay and demise.
Love without locks: Responsible alternatives to lock down your love
For me, a better alternative is to take a piece of the city home with you! I’m not in any way saying steal ancient rocks from the Acropolis or fill a jar with sand from a beach in Barcelona. No, no, no.
By this I mean purchase a stunning painting from one of the talented local artists along the Siene or treat yourself to a locally made bag, clothing item or unique piece of jewellery. Anything that hasn’t been mass-produced and has been created with thought and care to remember your visit. Support local jobs!
As well as your photos and memories, I believe these are the types of things we should be taking home with us. We are free to use these things whenever we like and remind us of our fond time on our trip, rather than wondering if our rusty padlock we left on some European bridge fell victim to bolt cutters from authorities, without the chance of ever seeing or finding it again.
READ MORE:
4 Days in Paris Itinerary: Complete Guide for First-Timers
The Best Month to Visit Paris REVEALED
Ethical Alternatives to Airbnb for Responsible Tourists
Inspiring Reasons to Visit Switzerland in Winter (For Non-Skiers)
Forward thinking for alternatives to love locks on bridges
The more we try and stop something, the more people are going to figure out ways around it. I get that, too. But how can we compromise on this? I don’t see why there can’t be dedicated places for lovers to leave their locks. Places like South Korea and Russia already have dedicated lock sculptures band areas created specifically for this.
Perhaps this is the type of compromise we need – lovers get to leave their mark on a city in a non-damaging way and iconic structures are free to be as beautiful and clear of locks as they day they were completed. Everybody wins!
Before the padlocks were removed from Pont des Arts in Paris, the authorities placed signs over the locks explaining why they were going to be removed. The signs read:
The weight of your love weighs down our monuments and endangers the capital’s visitors.
Because our bridges will buckle under the weight of all the love locks, the City of Paris is removing them. Since 2008, many of you have come here to pledge your love and attach locks to Parisian bridges. This actually does long-term damage to the capital’s cultural heritage and creates safety problems.
As a result, the City of Paris has opted for a long-term alternative. From this autumn, the lattice grills will be replaced with glass panels which will allow the bridge to retain its transparent charm.
But before that, Paris invites you to post your selfie and declaration of love on the lovewithoutlocks.paris.fr website where you can also discover the original work of four artists currently displayed on Pont des Arts.
And I couldn’t agree more.
Tourists can now take their photo in the place where they may have left a love lock, upload it to social media with the hashtag #lovewithoutlocks and have it appear in a feed on the website.
Supporting the preservation of our cities
There is an amazing website dedicated to raising awareness and informing people of the dangers leaving love locks in Paris (and around the world) creates.
No Love Locks, a preservation group in Paris created by Lisa Anselmo and the late Lisa Taylor Huff documents damages caused by the overwhelming impact of love locks.
No Love Locks provides numerous examples of street vendors in Paris who attach heavy bike chains to bridges and other structures in order to sell more locks – it needs to stop. I certainly agree with Lisa’s quote:
“One man’s expression of love must never come at the expense of the cultural heritage of others. When you come to another country and willingly deface a historic landmark, that is vandalism by definition. It’s becomes about ego, and it’s morally bankrupt.”
Their work on encouraging preservation of Paris from the padlock invasion has been featured in numerous articles by major news outlets. More recently when the locks were removed from Pont des Arts in Paris, No Love Locks shared images on their Facebook Page as they captured lovers resorting to tagging the glass panels as a new way to leave their mark on this Parisian icon.
This blatant graffiti is completely disrespectful to locals, their city and is the exact opposite of being an Invisible Tourist.
So… Have I convinced you not to leave padlocks in Paris?
Love locks have proven time and time again they are contributing to the demise of the structures they are attached to. Surely, this can’t be what we really want to happen to our beautiful old cities and I ask that if you are thinking about leaving one behind to reconsider.
Are love locks really about love? Or gaining likes on social media?
If we want to preserve these incredible destinations, we need to embrace invisible tourism – do as locals do and leave nothing behind that could potentially harm structures of the destinations we love so much. I’m sure it’s obvious by now why I am an Invisible Tourist and this is why I will never lust after love locks.
What are your thoughts on padlocks in Paris? Do you agree with their removal from iconic structures? Feel free to let me know in the comments below. If you agree with my article on this unpopular truth, please share it or come and join me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest and TikTok to support invisible tourism!
Until next time,
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You have given me and alot of others alot to think about. I had always thought this is something I would never do just bc of the keys being tossed into the river where it can harm wildlife but the weight of it on the bridge was not something (which I am embarrassed to say so) I had thought about but should have.. Unfortunately these people will no stop so maybe these cities could build a unreinforced wall in a romantic location with a buried locked box under the ground that the keys could be dropped down into in these locations. Maybe get a local artist to do a beautiful poem about love everlasting and maybe a alternative would be a better solution than taking it away completely bc that will probably never stop people. Thank You!
I’m so glad to have been able to offer a different perspective, Lisa! I certainly agree, it would be great if cities would provide dedicated alternatives for locks if people are still keen to leave them. They could be in areas away from popular tourist attractions to drive foot traffic to small businesses that could benefit from more visitors. Thank you for your comment! 😃
Thank you for sharing this valuable information about the love lock trend. Your blog article is awesome.
So glad you found my article helpful, Andy!
I see I responded once before when this article crossed my FB page but I can’t agree enough with you! THANK YOU for continuing to remind lovers to not leave their mark in this obstructive way! Another alternative might be to bring a pebble with you (to signify the solid eternity of your love) and place it on a gravel pathway (maybe signifying that no matter how much it is trampled or bears the weight of the world, it will last). OR, take a gravel pebble home for the same reminder. I am glad to hear that some cities are erecting monuments specifically for locks. -Another great alternative.
Firstly Gail, thank you so much for being a loyal reader over two years down the track! I appreciate it more than anyone knows 🙂 As there have been some big changes in Paris and European cities since I first wrote this article, I wanted to update it with the latest information for my new readers who may not have been aware of the issues these locks can cause.
I like the idea of leaving a pebble. And a reader on my Facebook page also suggested leaving colourful ribbons, as they are now permitting in Portugal. Thankfully this is a lightweight option that won’t rust!
Here’s the facebook thread for readers who are interested (see the comment section): Portugal permits leaving ribbons instead of locks on bridges
Thank you again for following along all this time and I hope to see you back again soon 🙂
Thanks for sharing this wonderful blog, I heard about this bridge that the government of Paris unlock all these locks, cause the weight of locks damage the bridge.
Yes that’s the unfortunate reality, Michael. But no sooner do the authorities remove the locks, people put them back on again. Will tourists ever learn?
Thanks for this article. When I first heard of “Love locks” I thought, “how sweet!” That thought quickly passed as I thought about the damage! I refuse to leave locks and whenever I host friends going to Europe, I make it plain that, while they are traveling with me, I will not allow them to do this. I do like the idea of cities providing a designated base for locks. Good compromise! My only hope is that the value of the metal once it is smelted down will off-set the cost of damage repairs and employees who must cut the locks off.
Good on you, Gail. It’s great to know there are some of us out there that think about the negative long-term ramifications of these seemingly innocent locks. Thanks for your comment 🙂
I really appreciate this post! I’ve never been a fan of love locks (though I do enjoy taking photos of them, weirdly?). However, my opposition to love locks has always been more symbolic. I think it’s a super crappy gesture to “lock” your love, and to me it has connotations of possession that I view as dangerous in any relationship. Thanks for expanding my perspective on this to include a discussion of historic preservation as well! I never thought of love locks in terms of their physical impact on a city, but that makes total sense! Another reason to be against love locks. Great post, thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much Alissa, I’m really happy to hear I could help expand your perspective! The locks kind of remind me of couples who get matching tattoos… They don’t really seem to end well (stereotypically speaking!) Thank you for your great comment 🙂
I’m not a fan. I’ve seen the love-locked bridges of Paris, Prague and the like and people trying to make them a “thing” in other cities and a big part of me just screams “NO!” It is a form of vandalism, despite what anyone says… and I think love is best celebrated quietly, without fanfare. But that’s just my opinion.
I completely agree, LC! I find it annoying when a bridge has a few padlocks on it from people trying to make it a thing, as you say. Why try and be like everybody else? Being different is much more fun, I think. And yes, how does the saying go, “the sign of a good relationship is no sign of it on Facebook?”
Thanks for this excellent piece Alyse! I’m currently visiting Stockholm and was surprised to see love locks pretty much everywhere here. They aren’t as prevalent as in Paris, but pretty much every bridge or waterfront railing in the centre of the city has a handful of them. To me they are basically litter and I wish people wouldn’t leave them. If they want to remember a place, they should take a photo or as you suggest, buy a thoughtful and ethically chosen local souvenir.
I’m a hiker and adventure traveller and in that context I’m a really big proponent of the Leave No Trace philosophy. The idea behind it is to prevent tragedy of the commons type situations in fragile wilderness settings. So of course it advocates against graffiti and littering but also for visiting at off peak times to spread out our impact. I hadn’t thought of applying Leave no trace principles to my more urban adventures, but your post has inspired me to think about that more.
Thanks so much for your comment, Taryn! That’s a shame to hear about Stockholm. Oh yes I love the Leave No Trace philosophy as well! It’s very important, especially for the benefit of our future generations. It’s definitely possible to apply it to urban adventures, too. Most of my adventures are urban and I find I get so much more out of a trip by being “invisible”. Happy to hear I inspired you 🙂 Keep smiling and travelling!