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| Eiffel Tower Lights the Evening - DGH 2010 |
Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel)
Paris with all its lights on shows us a city proud to flaunt its beauty. It’s an impressive sight at night, when buildings take on a golden glow and the Eiffel Tower changes colour by the hour.
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| Bright Cafe Lights on the Right Bank - by DGH |
In the Marais when evening falls, walkers fill the streets looking for a place to eat and a spot to people watch by the Seine River. On the side streets, light spills out from the cafés and bistros onto the sidewalk, while the cosy tables invite us to stop.
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| Bateau Parisiennes Tour - Illuminations - by Green Eye |
Illumination Tours
Bateau Parisienne is one of several companies that provide tours of the Seine River day and night. Boats are open style or covered, depending on the weather, and provide an excellent view of the buildings in their evening finery. There are also driving tours available if you prefer the land route.
The unique design of the bridges can be seen as you slip quietly beneath. From this level, it’s also easier to see the detail of architectural grotesques and the unique style of the different bridges. I imagine scenes from the past when beaches ran down to the Seine River, and a few of the oldest bridges were new.
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| Look Way Up at Notre Dame - by DG Hudson |
Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame looms over the Seine, its haunting Gothic style highlighted by the evening glow of lights. Refer to 'Paris - Architecture Smorgasbord (from my 21st Century blog) for more photos and detail on this inspired building.
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Hôtel de Ville
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| Evening shot of Hotel de Ville with Signposts - by DGH |
The Hôtel de Ville watches over the plaza in front, its sculptures lit from beneath. This is Paris City Hall. The quiet fountain off the the side bubbles pleasantly as we walk by, heading to our rental apartment. Public events such as fund-raisers are staged in the square at times. On those occasions, the building dons a different dress. (see 'Transformed photo' in sidebar)
http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/hoteldeville.htm Hôtel de Ville
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Hôtel-Dieu de Paris
The illuminated photo of this building appears in another recent Paris post, Apartment Rentals and Booked Tours.
Hôtel-Dieu de Paris is the oldest hospital in Paris, and sits next to Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité. It was also the only hospital until the Renaissance. A few of the towers facing the Seine River have retained their medieval style complete with conical roofs. Below is the day version.
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| Hotel D'ieu's conical towers at left - by DG Hudson |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel-Dieu_de_Paris Hotel D'ieu
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Seine River bridges
Always lots to see, on the river or on the bridges.
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| Bridge and Tour boat on the Seine River by DG Hudson |
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Samaritain Paris
This department store in the 1st Arrondisement closed in 2005. In 2010, the lights still celebrated the store's past. I liked the current design and the lights. Who knows how long this version will last?
More info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Samaritaine.
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| Samaritaine in the Evening by DGH |
A photographer's dream, that's Paris. It's the urge to capture the essence of the brightness, the thing that gives the city that overall glow. And I don't mean electricity.
What is it about lights - the neon that seduces us, marquees that invite us in and special lights that enthrall us at certain times of the year? In Paris, they keep it going year round and light up the best places.
Do you know of cities like Paris that enhance themselves in the evening with lights, or other public events so people feel comfortable walking about?
Please share if you do.
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