The first version of the Pont was built in 1856 to commemorate a victory over the Russians at Alma by the Franco-British during the Crimean War. It was replaced by the present single-span bridge in 1974, but the Zouave was left in place in deference to his years of service.

The area is home to a number of sights: across the Place de l’Alma, The Crazy Horse Saloon is just up toward the Champs Elysees on the Ave George V. Further up the avenue on the left is the American Cathedral consecrated on Thanksgiving day, 1886. On the place d’Alma, just next to the underpass on the west side is a huge torch which many have taken to be a monument to the unfortunate Diana; in fact it is a replica of the torch on the Statue of Liberty in New York, and was given to the City of Paris as a gesture of Franco American Friendship initiated by the Herald Tribune 30 years prior to the accident.

The Avenue Montaigne, which connects the place with the Rond-Point des Champs Elysées is, of course, best known for its fancy shops and luxury goods (along with the rue François 1er), as well as the Plaza Athénée hotel. The bridge connects to the Place de la Résistance and the Quai Branly on the Left Bank where the entrance to the world’s oldest sewer (dating from the 14th century!) is located. In fact, it’s here as well, just off the Place de l’Alma, that one finds the entrance to Les Egouts de Paris (The Sewers of Paris), a tour that takes visitors deep underground along a substantial part of what is literally Paris’ underbelly.