A steel span with upper works of stone, it embodies the Gay Nineties, la Belle Epoque, solid, sumptuous, and luxuriant, with its pomposity mocked by its own gaiety. Finished in time for the International Exposition of 1900, it leads to two faded souvenirs of that years fair, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. Both are still used for seasonal painting salons and major visiting art exhibits, and the Grand Palais also shelters overflow classes from the Sorbonne and a science museum. For millions around the world the name Paris connotes an image of a mile-long stretch of the Seine between the Pont du Carrousel and the Pont Sully. The citys most celebrated bridge, its most famous museum, its most admired Gothic churches are all found here in the ancient heart of the capital. Here, too, are the quayside bookstalls, the bird and flower markets, and the sempiternal anglers of the Seine.