While March was a very busy month in terms of travels and photography, April has been pretty boring. The weather hasn’t been very great lately, so instead of piling up a lot of new photos, I’ve been slowly editing and publishing the ones I made in Lapland. Now that I’m done with that series (I’m already missing those pristine snowed landscapes…), it’s time to go back to the other trip I made at the beginning of spring, when I visited Paris. I already showed you a few photos I took during my first day ever in this beautiful city in this post.
On my second day in Paris I realized that there’s so much to see in this city that a long weekend is not even enough to start. Anyway, we woke up early and started our day in the very best way possible: we were walking when a delicious smell of cinnamon caught our attention. We entered in a very tiny bakery where bakers were making tray after tray of incredibly good cinnamon buns and pain au chocolat. After that, we went to Montmartre and, from there, we walked to the city centre again, exploring the different little streets and quartiers, going through beautiful covered passages (an early form of shopping arcade dating from the first half of the 19th century) until we arrived to the blooming gardens of Le Palais Royal and the always crowded Louvre Museum. After lunch, we climbed the towers of Notre Dame (I’ll publish another post with photos from this impressive Gothic cathedral and other Parisian churches) and then we walked until the Arc de Triomphe and again to the Eiffel tower for a few more night photos, and ended up at the Louvre Museum again to try to capture the iconic glass pyramids and the Louvre Palace with not so many people (which is almost mission impossible!!).
It was quite a long day and we walked too many kilometers, carrying camera, lenses and tripod… At the end of the day, we were completely exhausted!!! But now editing the photos and writing about that day, I have a big smile on my face… What an amazing day!! All the monuments and enchanting places we saw, all the great French food we ate that day (yes, I tried for the first time the escargots and, of course, I ate lots of macarons!!)… And I even got asked to photograph a couple that got engaged before the Eiffel tower… is there anything more Parisian than that???
Here are some of the photos I took that day. I hope you like them!
Rue Saint-Julien le Pauvre. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 38mm f/11 1/250sec. ISO200
Cirkus Bakery. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/4.5 1/50sec. ISO200
Rue Galande. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 63mm f/6.3 1/640sec. ISO200
Montmartre. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 47mm f/11 1/320sec. ISO200
Cadet. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/11 1/320sec. ISO200
The chocolate shop. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 44mm f/11 1/100sec. ISO200
Passage Jouffroy. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/25sec. ISO500
Passage des Panoramas. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/11 1/100sec. ISO500
Palais Royal. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 164mm f/5 1/1250sec. ISO500
Magnolia. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 400mm f/5.6 1/1000sec. ISO500
Louvre Museum. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/125sec. ISO125
View from Notre Dame Cathedral. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 200mm f/5.6 1/3200sec. ISO500
Golden hour. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/50sec. ISO400
Arc de Triomphe. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/22 15sec. ISO100
The carrousel and the tower. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 35mm f/11 0.8sec. ISO100
The Pyramid. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/13 15sec. ISO100
Beautiful images. You captured the Tower beautifully. It’s always a challenge to photograph a well-known attraction, and you did it so well. I loved the golden hour shot. But, you must tell me the story behind the leaning building!
Thanks a mil, Anne!! I guess it’s always difficult to photograph this kind of places that have been captured millions and millions of times…. I couldn’t get any night photo of the tower the first day, so we went back again. Of course, the most typical locations where already crowded with thousands of people with their tripods or taking selfies. This always overwhelms me, so we continued walking and right behind the carousel I found my spot, hehehe (and then, that couple asked me to record their engagement while I was taking long exposure photos, hehehe).
About that leaning building… I went to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre in the morning… The views were great, but there was a bit of mist, so I didn’t like the conditions to take photos of Paris from there… The church was also crowded with people taking selfies and I didn’t like it either… so when we went down the hill, I saw that building. It is perfectly normal, but there’s a bit of green in the park in front of the Sacre Coeur… you can play with perception there, hehehe. I’m afraid the photo is not very original, but it was the least crowded spot on Montmartre, so I did the photo anyway, hehehe.
As photographers, we learn to work with what we have like crowds. You did amazingly well in avoiding them. I’m looking forward to your next trip!
You’re right! we have to deal with what is in front of the camera… But I admit that I miss my 10-stops ND filter for these situations, hehehe. I called it the “tourists eraser”, hahaha. I need a new one for the new lens soon!!
Uuuummm next trip… I just hope the weather starts improving soon… it’s been an awful spring, it even snowed last week… hahaha I’m so looking forward to starting hiking (and taking photos) again!! 🙂
Wonderful shots! I like the street photos, especially the fascinating chocolate shop 🙂 Did you treat yourself some sweet?
Thanks a million, Len! I loved to walk around Paris… there are so many photogenic and lovely spots, apart from the typical ones!! 🙂
No, I didn’t buy anything from that shop… Now that I live in Switzerland, I don’t buy chocolate in other places anymore (I’m already eating one of the best!! 🙂 )… but I did try more Parisian sweet delicacies… I loved the macarons from Pierre Hermé and the pastries in Ladurée! And I ate too much pain au chocolat in just one weekend… hahaha
A dangerous place for whoever is on diet 😛
Hahaha travelling is not good for anyone on a diet…. 😛 you’d miss so many great things and an important part of local culture!
Gorgeous photos Mercedes, as usual. That Circus Bakery is definitely on my to-do list for my next visit!
Thanks a mil, Vero!! Yes, you have to go!! Circus was one of my favorite things in Paris!! It’s super tiny and simple, there’s just a bench in front of the counter to sit and enjoy your coffee and cinnamon bun but…. you are seeing how they make them in the same place and the smell is like a dream!! 🙂
I’ve added the address on my “places to visits list” on google map!
If you like cinnamon, you won’t be disappointed! The buns from Circus reminded me to the Swedish Kanelbullar, my favorite… The ones in Paris don’t have cardamom, but they’re almost as good as the Swedish! 🙂 And they’re fresh baked 🙂 I hope you like them when you go!
Oh……… Mouth watering alert!!!
Oh Paris, such a fascinating city and you have captured so beautifully. I absolutely love the mixture of the very famous landmarks together with the small city streets that gives Paris that iconic status and shows the city as is. Is the photo of the cafe the bakery where you got the cinnamon bun s? Pastries is Paris always are like nowhere else in the world. Love the blue hour capture of the Louvre and the Eiffel tower. As for tourist, it is near impossible to photograph these monuments without one person, so well done for capturing a few without anyone in the frame!
My favorite is that you have captured Paris in bloom, when Paris is as its most beautiful. By the way, any photos of the engagement you were asked to photograph??? I am curious……
Thanks a million, B! For my first visit to Paris I had to go everywhere, landmarks included!! I look like every other tourist, camera in hand, but there are things that you have to see with your own eyes! Of course that also implies thousands of other tourists, you can’t avoid them, right? Next time, I can try to find new angles and places, hehehe.
Ummmm Circus… Amazing place! I still don’t know how Isaac found it, of it it was just the smell of cinnamon in the air, but I’m so glad we found this cute tiny hidden gem! Second most amazing cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had (sorry, first position will always be for Swedish Kanelbullar, hehehe)!! And the best thing is we were seeing how they were making them as we bought ours… Amazing!
I want to go again… it was beautiful to see the first blooms in the city, but I’m sure I’d have enjoyed it more with a bit more of color and warmer temperature… I was freezing almost all the time!! Hehehe it’s being a very weird spring everywhere, I think!!
And no….. I didn’t take photos of them with my own camera. I didn’t think about it and I didn’t even have a flash, so I couldn’t have done it even if I wanted (their video is just a shadow knelling in front of another shadow with the luminous Eiffel tower behind… hahaha, the camera in their mobile wasn’t the best either!). But it was a fun moment! And romantic!!