My Favorite Photography Spots in Paris

This is a list of some of my favorite photo-worthy spots in Paris. It’s not comprehensive. There are more beautiful places in Paris than those listed below.
Feel free to suggest your favorite spots in the comments below.

[Click on the photos for larger views…]

The Louvre Pyramids

I went to the Louvre pyramids twice, once around 2pm on our first day, and again at dawn on our penultimate day. If you go during normal hours, be aware that the entire place will be full of people. There will be dozens and dozens of people hopping up onto the stands to take their “my finger’s on the tip of the pyramid” shot.

These pictures were taken around 7:00am local time. I had the entire place to myself. And it was glorious.

The Eiffel Tower

You have two choices: go to the Eiffel Tower or, wherever you find yourself in the city, look up. Both are great.

If you want some alone time with her, you best go at dawn. The second image here—the blue one—was taken at 7:30am local time.

Arc de Triomphe

I didn’t think the Arc was going to be cool. I was wrong. It’s pretty impressive up close. I’m kicking myself for not going up into it and taking a picture of the city. The views I’ve seen on other photography websites are beautiful.

Before you go up, you can check the wait times here.

The Arc is in the middle of a giant traffic circle connecting 12 streets. You can sit down and watch the cars and busses do their dance. During red lights, you can take angsty photos like we did.

Jardin de Tuileries
(Tuileries Garden)

This is one of the most beautiful parks/gardens I’ve ever seen. Go here. Have wine. Be happy.

Le Village Royal

In general, pretty places are crowded. And everywhere in Paris is pretty. Ergo, everywhere in Paris is crowded. But if you’re patient you can find a break in the instagrammer traffic and get yourself a nice little snapshot. We popped into Le Village Royal—an outdoor mall—on our afternoon walk back to our hotel. It wasn’t easy snapping these two shots among all the other people taking their obligatory “grab the umbrella” picture—especially considering they were the only thing between us and getting back to our hotel for happy hour.

Musèe d’Orsay

Wiff and I aren’t museum people. Which is to say, we hate museums. We just don’t get them.
This is us in a museum:
”Huh. Okay.” [move to next piece]
”Mmm. Okay.” [move to next piece]

The Musèe d’Orsay was the only museum we visited. And even then, it was mainly for the architecture of the building itself. It’s beautiful. Do yourself a favor and look up Courbet’s L'origin du Monde.

Sacré-Cœur

The structure itself is a bit bulbous, but the views are pretty cool. I read AFTER I’d left that you can go up to the top of the Coeur, which I’d imagine would make for a much better view.

I hope to god that the creepy carousel in the park at the base of Le Coeur is just down for the season. Rundown carousels always freak me out. 🎶…do DO do doo do Do do doo…🎶