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 it would be great if you can trust me to design the route for you based on the weather.
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
This is a very popular spot where you can view the Tour Eiffel. 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 or at sunrise
An extremely popular spot with very limited space, often crowded with bloggers and tourists, where you get the nice cobbled-stoned roads, stylish Parisian buildings and the Eiffel Tower at the end of the street.
3. Trocadéro Gardens
Recommended shooting time: Only at sunrise, earliest possible
Recommended shooting situation: Sunny days
Breathing in the fragrant spring air, you blend in with the beautiful colours of blooming cherry blossoms and many other types of flowers around this time of the year!
There is often big events in the weekends, so it's not recommended to shoot here at this time. On any given day, it's a very popular spot for shooting and you may need to queue for a photo if you are very particular about a certain shooting spot.
4. Trocadéro
Recommended shooting time: Only at sunrise, earliest possible
Recommended shooting situation: Sunny days
The plaza just next to the metro station is often a good starting point of the shooting, and in the internet/social media it's swamped with photos from this location, so it's often over-crowded and full of rubbish.
There is often big events in the weekends, so it's not recommended to shoot here currently. On any given day, it's a very popular spot for shooting and you may need to queue for a photo if you are very particular about a certain shooting spot.
** Construction boards are set up in many parts of it right now so the space left for shooting is very limited. NOT a recommended shooting spot.
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 it! It the closest landmark is still walkable from the Eiffel Tower. For the rest, you'll have to take transportation to reach as Eiffel Tower is isolated on the west side of the city.