A Weekend in Paris- a Photographer’s Guide

How to enjoy your trip and get amazing photos!

Have you got a weekend planned in Paris and are wondering where to start with planning it?!

I recently had the pleasure of a weekend in Paris with some good friends and my trusty camera, and wanted to share my itinerary and top tips with you, to make your trip a bit easier and hopefully inspire your photography!

The river Seine in Paris with a boat in the foreground.

First of all, do some research

You could spend weeks looking around Paris, there is so much to do and see! You probably also just want to “soak up” the place and not be rushing round too much, so the first thing to do is figure out your top priorities.

I bought a good old fashioned pocket guide to Paris (like this one here) and began reading up on things and making a mental note of what really appealed to me. I also found that Facebook suggested a few Paris groups to me, and they were actually really helpful to learn from other people’s experiences and see their amazing photos!

Also, a couple of friends had recently been to Paris, so I asked them for recommendations, which they were more than happy to share!

It really helps to have a good look at a map of Paris and find the places that you are thinking about visiting. You will soon start to get a mental map of the city and where the major sites are. Use Google maps and figure out walking times between places, or where the metro will be needed- this will help you to start to plan the flow of your visit.

Then create your itinerary but leave flexibility

Once myself and my three friends had all shared the places that we’d love to see, we started to create an itinerary. Our list of top priorities for two full days was something like this:

  • Louvre
  • Notre Dame
  • Eiffel Tower
  • Arc De Triumphe
  • Musee D’Orsay
  • Possibly a boat trip along the Seine
  • Montmatre/ Sacre Coeur

Buy some tickets, but not for everything!

We decided to book a few of the tickets in advance so we could avoid some of the queues- for the Louvre, Musee D’Orsay and climbing to the top of the Arc De Triumphe. Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur are free to enter, and we didn’t want to go up the Eiffel Tower this time, preferring instead to go up the Arc De Triumphe so that we could look across to the Eiffel Tower. We weren’t sure about the boat trip or where it might fit in, so we didn’t book that in advance after finding reassurance that you can hop on and get tickets at the time. (In the end, we decided not to do a boat trip this time!)

Our Itinerary of Paris

This is how we spent our weekend in Paris, arriving on Thursday evening and having a full Friday and Saturday in the city-

Thursday: We travelled by Eurostar from London to Gard du Nord and made our way via the Metro to our accommodation. The Paris Metro system really impressed us. It’s pretty easy to use- you just either download the app (Bonjour RATP) or use the machines to purchase a Navigo pass which you then load up with single or multiple tickets. Each ticket costs €2.50 and Google maps told us exactly how to get around on public transport and which lines we needed.

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: The Metro signs around Paris are iconic. Make sure you capture a few of your favourites! These images, with their strong black lines, also look so good in black and white, which transforms them to an instantly classic Paris scene.

We arrived at our Air BnB in the 7th Arrondissment in the early evening. After settling in a bit, we went out for a walk around our neighbourhood and had our choice of lots of restaurants. Don’t ask me why, as we were in France not Italy, but I was hankering after a pizza! I ordered one and saw it being made freshly by hand and cooked in a pizza oven and was so delicious and HUGE!

We tried out our French on our long-suffering waiter, who replied to our enthusiastic, “Bonjour” with a “Bon soir”. I think he appreciated the effort, even if I caught the hint of an eye roll, haha!

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: There is something so beautiful about the tall, white buildings that are everywhere and makes it all feel so uniquely Parisian! So make sure you capture some images of these everyday buildings as well as the big landmark sites. Capture their straight lines and symmetry straight on, or with passers by going about their lives in front, cute shop fronts and restaurants and the curved corners at the end of streets. You will end up with a gallery that takes you right back to Paris.

Friday: We started the day with a patisserie stop. This just HAS to be done! A note on patisseries- all you have heard is true- French pastries really are the absolute best! You think you have eaten pastries before you go to France, but you haven’t. The French are the masters of this art and I bow the knee. I don’t know what makes them so superior (OK, I have an inkling that it’s butter and hundreds of years perfecting their craft)but they are just incredible.

We popped to La Patisserie Cyril Lignag on Rue De Sevres on the Friday and Saturday morning as it was right by our appartment, and they had an amazing display. We asked which morning pastry we should try, and the lady behind the counter told us without missing a beat that the Chausson aux Pommes (apple turnover) was the best in Pairs, so we had to try it! It was absolutely amazing, it just melted in my mouth!! Delicieux!

There are hundreds of beautiful, independent artisan food stores in Paris- patisseries, fromageries, boulangeries, as well as all the cafes and restaurants. The owners take so much pride in their food and it’s presentation and many of these places are a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds!

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Some shop owners don’t allow you to take photos of their store or goods, so it’s always worth checking before you get carried away photographing all the pretty macarons!

After devouring our pastries, we walked to the Louvre.

The Louvre

The Louvre itself is just such an iconic building, and you feel like you are somewhere so special as soon as you arrive. I think it’s a must-see for a weekend in Paris! The central glass pyramid, which takes you down to the modern central foyer with its clean lines and beautiful minimalist design, stands in stark contrast to the ornately decorated rooms, but somehow this juxtaposition just works so well.

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: If you want a photo with the iconic Louvre pyramid, and indeed any famous Parisian landmark, you’ll need to get there very early, as all of these places are going to have hundreds of tourists who want the exact same image as you. However, if you don’t manage to beat the crowds, you can take a closer photo that cuts out the people and emphasises the clean lines of the pyramid.

Inside was just stunning. Yes, it was amazing to get to the front of the crowds and take my turn in seeing the Mona Lisa, the most famous painting in the world. But I also just enjoyed strolling around the Louvre and looking at the ceilings, frescoes and arches of this beautiful former palace. It was truly a photographer’s dream. My favourite room was the gold-guilded Galerie d’Apollon, which houses the French Crown Jewells- what an incredible place!

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: You’ll have a field day inside the Louvre. It’s a treasure trove of amazing compositional elements, so look all around you and mix up wide shots with details, look for different angles, and even use a bit of slow shutter speed to capture the art unmoved by the busy-ness around it.

Apparently, the Louvre has 35,000+ pieces of art and if you glanced at each one, you would be there for 9 months, but we didn’t have that long! So after a couple of hours and a lunch in the Louvre cafe (with amazing views over the central courtyard)- we walked through the Tulip Gardens to the Musee D’Orsay.

Musee D’Orsay

The Musee D’Orsay is another stunning and historic building- a former railway station which now houses some of the most well known art on Earth. It was incredible to wander round the room where Van Gogh’s masterpieces hung, and read about his sad story. Then in the next room, so many Monet paintings that I recognised, then Renoir in the next room etc etc. We could have spent a lot longer in here. We got the audio tour again and I really found this helpful as you just type in the corresponding number to the painting you are looking at and it tells you all about it.

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: While you are in here, make sure you take a look through the huge clock face upstairs where you can see outside to the Seine. The light coming through the clock will throw the clock workings and people inside into silhouette.

After all that art, we needed a little snack break and it was definitely the moment for a French crepe! We walked a few minutes down the road and had some incredible crepes in a beautiful cafe opposite the Louvre, called La Fregate. It was exactly what we needed to fuel a bit more walking along the Seine, towards Notre Dame.

Obviously, Notre Dame was very damaged in the fire of 2019, but has now been reopened and we were really keen to take a look at the redevelopment. However, we were just a few minutes late as (unbeknown to us) the queue gets closed 30 minutes before the cathedral closing time, so we had to content ourselves with the outside and a promise to come back tomorrow.

However, as we stood in the Ile de la Cite, wondering what to do next, we saw on the map that a bookshop I had wanted to visit if we were anywhere near was just over the road- Shakespeare and Company.

Shakespeare and Company Book Shop

The historic Shakespeare and Company book shop featured in a book I recently read (The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods) and it wasn’t until I started planning this Paris trip that I realised that it actually existed in real life! It was gorgeous shop and we all bought a book there and had them stamped with the shop name at the counter.

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: You are strictly not allowed to take photographs in this shop (I presume because it is so cute and famous that it would just be full of tourists taking photographs if photos were allowed!). While we were in there, someone got shouted at for taking photos, so please don’t try!

Alcazar Restaurant

A lovely videographer friend of mine had recommended a restaurant called Alcazar, so we decided to walk to that, about a 20 minute walk away through streets starting to buzz with the evening cafe culture. Again, we just used Google maps to get around. Paris is very walkable and definitely part of the whole experience is wandering around the gorgeous streets, taking it all in. If you did need a cab at any point, Uber and Bolt are the most popular, but we didn’t need to take a cab at any point.

I would highly recommend Alcazar- we had amazing customer service from the second we went in. It’s a very funky restaurant over two levels with booths, low lighting, velvet seats and lots of lush green foliage! As advised by my friend, and 100% endorsed by the waiter, I had to try the french onion soup and it was amazing! As well as everything we ate being delicious, it’s worth a mention that every wine we tasted was also extremely tasty and very reasonably priced.

Saturday:

After our breakfast stop back at Cyril’s (getting the Chausson aux Pommes again as it was just so divine!), we took the metro to the Arc De Triomphe.

Line 6 on the Metro- Bir-Hakeim Bridge

Now, I knew that there was a metro line that took you overland that had an amazing view of the Arc de Triumphe- line 6, and just had that in my head in case we got the chance to go on it. By a happy coincidence, that was the exact line we needed on the Saturday morning! I was so excited!

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Try to position yourself by the doors of the train so that you can steady yourself by leaning against the pole and have the whole glass door to take a video or photo as you go over the Bir-Hakeim Bridge. It really is a wow moment!

L’Arc de Triumphe

Even coming up from the metro next to the Arc de Triumphe, I was just like, “wow, wow, wow!”. It’s much bigger than you imagine and is the epitome of French military pride, having been commissioned by Napoleon for his victorious troops. Once again, the beautiful creamy white stone that Paris is famous for.

I highly recommend getting tickets to go to the top if you are in Paris for the weekend. There are around 230 steps and you may need a little sit down when you get to the first level, but the view from the top in INCREDIBLE! The symmetry of the Parisian boulevards in every direction, the Eiffel Tower on the skyline, and a 360 degree view that will take your breath away!

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: If you can check the weather in advance and try to get up there on a clear day, you will get the full benefit of the amazing view. And don’t forget to get a shot of the beautiful spiral staircase from the top!

Eiffel Tower

We hopped back on the metro to the Eiffel Tower (which was going back on ourselves a little but only because we’d booked an early spot at the Arc De Triumphe), and wandered around it a bit, taking it all in and trying to get a good selfie- much harder than you’d think! You can walk all around near the base of the Tower, but directly underneath and up the tower itself requires tickets.

We then strolled to another recommended spot- the Rue De L’Universite, where the end of the street gives an amazing view of the full tower framed by a beautiful Parisian street.

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: I use prime lenses and agonised over which one(s) to take to Paris. In the end, I decided on my 35mm as the most versatile city photography lens, but I did also take my 24mm purely for the photos of the Eiffel Tower!

We then crossed over the Seine in front of the Tower and walked up to the Tracadero, which also gave us iconic views of the full tower in all its glory. This is another spot that everyone heads to, so if you wanted to do an intimate portrait shoot here, I would head here at sunrise to avoid the crowds.

For lunch, I ordered a Croque Monsieur at a little cafe behind the Trocadero, which completely hit the spot and made my high school french lessons all seem worthwhile!

Montmartre/ Sacre Coeur

We jumped back on the Metro and headed towards the Moulin Rouge. Just in front of it was a wide area of pavement in the middle of the road where you can catch the Little Train of Montmartre, which is €12 and takes you all around a circular tour to the top of Montmartre. We hopped off by Sacre Coeur, admiring the amazing panorama over Paris, and then went inside. It is a really beautiful church and there was a lovely service going on as we walked around.

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: As well as the buildings, remember to take photos of the unique people, animals and things that feel so very French- I asked permission to take a photo of this gorgeous little dog! A really good brass band that were performing on the street made me want to dance, and a singer had a crowd of people on the steps in front of Sacre Coeur singing along in the sunshine. These little details will trigger the sights and sounds of Paris in your memory in the future.

We spent some time wandering around the shops and streets, and made sure to purchase some Macarons from Christophe Roussel, on Rue Tardieu. They had amazing flavours like Chilli Cherry and Orange Cinnamon. We then hopped back on the little train, and enjoyed the rest of the tour back down through Montmartre.

Notre Dame

We headed back to Notre Dame, a bit earlier this evening to make sure we had plenty of time! Thankfully, we joined the queue, which moved very quickly and were soon inside. Wow. It is a STUNNING cathedral, and the renovations and repairs are incredible. It is so white and light inside, with brightly coloured chapels around the edges. Take your time and take in the beauty of this place, it’s very special.

  • PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Watch your straight lines when composing shots both outside and inside the Notre Dame, and the image will be more visually pleasing. Using grid lines on your camera display helps with this!

We all really enjoyed the Notre Dame and were so glad we’d made the effort to go back to see inside. We wandered towards our apartment and stopped off at a restaurant called Le Corner for our dinner- steak frites and pork with cherry gravy and mashed potato- which was cooked to perfection. We caught one last glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, now all illuminated for the evening in golden lights as a final way to round off our weekend.

An unforgettable weekend!

I hope this has helped you as you plan your own trip to Paris, and I hope my photos and tips have given you some inspiration! I am both a UK and an EU citizen, thanks to my Irish heritage, so I am legally able to work as a photographer in France and across the European Union. If you would like a special photoshoot or engagement photoshoot in Paris, or indeed are getting married in France and are looking for a photographer, I would be delighted to talk to you! Drop me an enquiry on my contact page! Bon voyage!

Hi, I’m Lindy- a wedding and lifestyle photographer based in the North West of the UK, with a love for European cities, beautiful places, happy people and delicious food! Come and find out more about me here.

  • All photographs in this post are copyright Lindy Rogers Photography and are not to be used without permission.