There are several spots around the Eiffel Tower where you can take a photo with the symbol of Paris easily! Here are some of my favourites, but there are actually many more + a bonus exclusive location at the end of this page! Do have a chat with me after booking a photo session so I can help to design a route that best fits your time and wishes. Note that different spots can be better for different weather situation, so we can design the best route together based on the weather and your project.
Tip: If you would like to shoot at some of the most popular spots below (especially Trocadéro), it is a must to do early morning soon after sunrise to have the best lighting and to avoid the crowds as much as possible!
1. Avenue de Camoens
Recommended shooting time: Sunrise, earliest possible
Recommended shooting situation: Sunny & cloudy days, early autumn
Avenue de Camoens is a short street with historical buildings on both sides. It is a particularly enchanting scene during autumn when you have the red leaves in the background!
2. Rue de l'Université
Recommended shooting time: Sunrise, earliest possible
Recommended shooting weather: Cloudy days
Rue de l'Université is a long street in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The junction between Rue de l'Université and Avenue de la Bourdonnais is an extremely popular spot with very limited space, often crowded, where you get the nice cobbled-stoned roads, stylish Parisian buildings and the Eiffel Tower at the end.
3. Jardin du Trocadéro
Recommended shooting time: Sunrise, earliest possible
Recommended shooting situation: Sunny days in spring
Jardins du Trocadéro is a large open garden facing the Eiffel Tower. It will host the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. There is a long water mirror at the center named the Fountain of Warsaw and sloping avenues you can blend in with the beautiful colours of blooming cherry blossoms and many other types of flowers! Sunrise on sunny days in spring is the best time to breath in the fragrant spring air and enjoy the sweet flower smells.
4. Trocadéro
Recommended shooting time: Sunrise, earliest possible
Recommended shooting situation: Sunny days
The Trocadéro plaza just next to the metro station is often a good starting point of the shooting. It is often over-crowded so I would recommend starting the shooting the earliest possible.
5. Pont d'Iéna
Recommended shooting time: Mornings or night time
Recommended shooting situation: Sunny or cloudy days
One of the spots where you can get closer to the Eiffel Tower, and where the River Seine flows just below this bridge. It is easy to capture both the Eiffel Tower and the Seine around here. At night when the light of the Eiffel Tower turns on, the light reflects on the water surface so it's very pretty.
6. Rue de Monttessuy
Recommended shooting time: Mornings or night time
Recommended shooting situation: Very early or late mornings and afternoons on sunny days. Perfect for cloudy days. There can be a lot of passerby in the afternoon.
One of my favourite spots with the Eiffel Tower. I always suggest my clients shoot in the small streets of Paris. As in this case, the elegant blue-roofed Haussmanian buildings as the backdrop adds interest to the photo.
7. Rue Saint-Dominique
Recommended shooting time: Very early morning or late morning on sunny days, cloudy/rainy days
Recommended shooting situation: Any type of weather
From here, we can easily walk to the Alexandre III bridge, so it is a good shooting spot if you have limited time but would like some candid photos of the Eiffel Tower as well as the most classic and beautiful bridge in Paris.
8. Pont Bir-Hakeim
One of the most popular spots around the Eiffel Tower area. One of the scenes in the movie "Inception" was actually filmed here! However, there are lots of bikers and cars, so it takes some patience to wait for the perfect shot! Since it has cover, it's the perfect spot when the weather is unstable and a chance of rain.
Recommended shooting time: Any time of the day including night shooting, but less crowded in the early morning.
Recommended shooting situation: Any type of weather
10. Area near Pont de Bir-Hakeim
Recommended shooting time: Any time of the day but less crowded in the morning.
Recommended shooting situation: Winter
11. Pont Alexandre III
Recommended shooting time: Sunrise or sunset for the best light and the sky colours. Otherwise doable any time in the morning, but it gets busy later in the morning.
Recommended shooting situation: Sunrise/Sunset (much more crowded in sunset)
Surely this is one of the most stylish and elegant bridges in Paris. On a clear day you can even see the Tour Eiffel just behind! The closest landmark is still walkable from the Eiffel Tower. For the rest, you'll have to take transportation to reach as the Eiffel Tower is isolated on the west side of the city.
12. Passerelle Debilly
Recommended shooting time: Morning
Recommended shooting situation: Sunny
Around just 5 minutes' walk from the Eiffel Tower, there's this footbridge with a magnificent view of the Iron Lady. The bridge is full of love locks from couples expressing their eternal love for each other! It's generally less crowded than other spots.
12.Galerie Lafayette
Recommended shooting time: Morning, after 10am.
Recommended shooting situation: Any type of weather
On a good day, on the top floor of the Galerie Lafayette - the free public viewing deck, you're able to see the Eiffel Tower from far away!
13.Jardin des Tuileries
Recommended shooting time: Morning
Recommended shooting situation: Any type of weather
This is the area closest to the Louvre and at the same time it offers a view of the Eiffel Tower. So it's a good place to include if you are short on time but would like to do the shooting with both the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. It's less crowded so it's still doable even later in the morning.
14. Some other hidden spots
Not a morning person but still want to have some photos with the iconic Eiffel Tower, minus the big crowds? Here are some spots which are not completely inundated with tourists, not even in the afternoon or at the weekends.
15. BONUS - private Parisian rooftop!
Want to shoot in a private location without plenty of crowds passing by? Want a once-in-a-lifetime experience on the famous Parisian rooftops that looks different from any other person? I can organise such shootings for you (additional costs apply and limited availability). Exclusive rooftop locations only reserved for my clients.
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I'm Teresa, a local Paris photographer who knows all the insider tips on exactly where and when to shoot at those pretty spots.
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