Paris

For tourists, Paris is the city of lights, city of love, but many people living in the city or in its suburbs do not see its beauty. I realized this recently, after we had moved outside of Paris to a larger, more affordable flat.

For years, I have photographed Paris in every situation: early morning, late night, in the heat of August or under the snow, from the bustling Grands Boulevards district to the large, quiet graveyards. I especially like Paris in late Spring and Summer, and warm evenings with their golden light.

I also like taking pictures of Paris at night. Its monuments and most interesting buildings are very nicely lit and walking along the Seine river on a warm Summer Saturday evening, among tourists and other people, all happy to be there is a sheer delight. I also run a website proposing Paris photo tours to share this with visitors.

Banks of the Seine

 Banks of the Seine

The banks of the Seine in Paris are a World Heritage site. At the beginning, the city of Lutetia was only on the islands at the very center of...

Bercy - Bibliothèque Nationale de France

 Bercy - Bibliothèque Nationale de France

A former docks area, the Bercy neighbourhood has changed a lot since the 1990s. New modern buildings were built in this area, making it a destination for photographers interested in contemporary...

Bridges of Paris

 Bridges of Paris

Paris has 37 bridges crossing the Seine river. 5 of them are footbridges and 2 are railway bridges. There are also a number of other bridges and footbridges crossing the various canals.

Canals of Paris

 Canals of Paris

The canal Saint Martin starts in the Bastille harbor, then crosses a tunnel and goes out of  it near Republic square. Further North, it becomes the canal de l'Ourcq.

Champs Elysées - Etoile

 Champs Elysées - Etoile

The Champs Elysées are nicknamed "most beautiful avenue in the world". It is part of the architectural perspective that goes from the Louvre to the arche de la Défense.
The Place de l'Etoile is...

Concorde square

 Concorde square

The large Concorde square is generally very busy, but has interesting photographic subjects: two large fountain and an obelisk that was offered to France by Egypt in 1836.

Eiffel Tower

 Eiffel Tower

Since its construction in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most familiar builings of Paris and the fourth most visited place of France with over 5 million visitors a year.

Though it...

Hotel de Ville

 Hotel de Ville

The hôtel de ville is in this area since the 14th century.

The building was finished in the 17th century, with addons in 1850. It was destroyed in a fire during the riots of 1871 and...

Les Invalides

 Les Invalides

The access to the central courtyard and the gardens is free. If possible, try to access the upper gallery using the stairs located at the corner leading to the WWII collections of the museum.

Jardin des Plantes

 Jardin des Plantes

The Jardin des Plantes is located in Eastern Paris, just beside the Austerlitz train station. It contains several different attractions:

  • Nice gardens
  • A small zoo
  • ...

Latin Quarter

 Latin Quarter

The Latin quarter is one of the most famous ones in Paris. Filled with tourists in Summer and students the rest of the year, it would be a very nice place to live if it was not so expensive.

Louvre

 Louvre

Now a large museum, the Louvre was initially a royal Palace. 

Louis XIV decided to move the French kings residence to Versailles, and it was subsequently used for the french administration...

Le Marais

 Le Marais

When Paris was only a small town located on an island, the area currently know as Le Marais was a marsh. Only in the 10th century did it get drained. Since then, the city grew and Le Marais went...

Montmartre

 Montmartre

Montmartre only became part of Paris in 1860. It is thus still a bit independent in mind. The highest point of Paris, Montmartre has lots of visits thanks to its basilica and village like areas.

Notre Dame de Paris

 Notre Dame de Paris

The cathedral Notre Dame de Paris is undoubtedly one of the most impressive examples of roman architecture in France, though it is far smaller than other cathedrals in France such as the ones of...

Grands Boulevards

 Grands Boulevards

The busy sector of the Grands boulevards has the large departement stores of Paris including the famous Printemps and Galeries Lafayettes. 

Palais Garnier opera house

 Palais Garnier opera house

These pictures of the Palais Garnier opera house show the opulence of the building, made of marble, gold and red velvet.

Père Lachaise

 Père Lachaise

The Père Lachaise is the largest cemetery of Paris. Located in the North East of the city, near Belleville and the Buttes Chaumont garden, it was created in the 18th century on terrains belonging...

Trocadero

 Trocadero

The Trocadero palace was built for the 1878 world fair. It was a fairly large building with an original architecture, which was used to host a museum. It was destroyed in 1937, for yet another world...

Tuileries

 Tuileries

One of the largest parks inside Paris, the Jardin des Tuileries, was once inside a palace adjoining the Louvre. The building was set on fired in 1871, burned entirely and the resulting ruins were...

La Villette

 La Villette

Located to the North East of Paris, this district was a busy industrial area with large storage areas, a slaughterhouse and factories. All this area has been reworked recently and now contains a...

Palais Royal

 Palais Royal

The Palais Royal is both a central district of Paris and one of its monuments, home to several ministries and administrations