Paris Par Nuit

PARIS BY NIGHT



If you are ever in Paris, whether as a tourist or you are living there (perhaps especially if you are living there come to think of it), I recommend that you take the time to dedicate at least a couple of hours to promenading around the city centre after dark. The regular nights where you are rushing out of the metro station and battling all obstacles on the street to get back home don't count!





Hotel de Ville or Town Hall

Visiting some of the famous landmarks beneath the moonlight is simply beautiful. There are also less crowds around than during the day.

Passing Bateau Mouche

 

Notre Dame. I really love this picture.

 

Spooky?

Taking a stroll along the Seine or sitting on the banks is very calming at night time. The passing bateaux mouches cut through the water and leave what seems like ever-expanding ripples after them, which then after a few moments dissipate.

Shakespeare and Company bookshop. One of the most important places in Paris with so much history. It is officially the centre of Paris (marked with a stamp in the floor protected by glass). Has housed many a penniless writer over the years since opening. They would plead their case to the owner in the morning and if successful stay on for a few days before someone else needed temporary housing.
Henry Miller called it a "wonderland of books".

Fire throwers at La Fontaine Saint Michel. It is the quintessential meeting place for Parisians. Think Flinders Street Station in Melbourne

Regardless of the season, there are many lovely memories that can be made along the Seine. I can not recall how many midsummer night picnics I have enjoyed sitting along the riverbank sipping wine and nibbling on cheese with a baguette bought from around the corner, or on a berge with legs happily dangling over the edge.

Pont des Arts
Note: Notice the wooden boards on parts of the bridge's fencing. This is due to the bridge's iconic "Lover's Locks," which after many years of couple's claiming eternal love by locking a padlock onto the fencing resulted in the sides collapsing. Unlucky sign? Can also see the Tour Montparnasse slightly lit up with blue lights.

The Louvre and pyramid