Charles de Gaulle Saxophone Bridge

Bridge decorated with painted saxophones from across the EU

Address Pont Charles de Gaulle, 5500 Dinant

A road bridge across the Meuse named after a young Charles de Gaulle, who was shot in the leg here in August 1914 while leading a French infantry charge against German troops. The bridge is lined with 28 brightly painted aluminium saxophones, each one decorated in the colours and motifs of an EU member state — a 2010 installation celebrating Adolphe Sax's invention and the European project at once.

It is the most photographed object in Dinant after the church and the citadel, and a pleasant five-minute walk along the quay from either. Best photographed from the east bank at the start of the bridge or from the river itself during a boat trip.

things to do sight
A story
Charles de Gaulle, then a young lieutenant in the French army, was wounded in Dinant in August 1914 while crossing the river to fight the Germans. The bridge that now bears his name is decorated with 28 oversized painted saxophones — one for each EU member state at the time of the installation — celebrating Dinant's other most famous association.