The Most Instagrammable Places in Paris
Paris is a very photogenic city and so there are many photo spots all around the city. From iconic sightseeing spots such as the Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Coeur and Palais Garnier to the beautiful Parisian architecture and pretty restaurants, you’ll want to take your camera out constantly to capture it all. During our 4 days in Paris, we were able to cover quite a lot of Insta spots that we’re sharing with you in this blog post. We share the exact location (often with coordinates) of each photo spot, so you can easily find them when in Paris.
The Best Photo Spots of the Eiffel Tower
Paris’ most famous landmark: the Eiffel Tower. The 330 meter tall Iron lady is hard to miss. Luckily, there are plenty of spots to capture the Eiffel Tower in all its beauty.
Rue de l’Université
Rue de l’Université is one of the best photo spots of the Eiffel Tower and therefore it’s very popular as well. To beat the crowds, the best time to visit this spot is right after sunrise. The light is best and there shouldn’t be anyone around, or at least just a handful of people. When we got there right after sunrise, we had the entire place to ourselves, right up until we finished shooting.
Avenue de New York
Avenue de New York is a large road along the Seine. Next to the pedestrian path, there’s a ledge that runs all the way along the Avenue. From the ledge near Pont d’Iena, right across the bus station of Pont d’Iena, there’s a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower in between the trees. Sit on the ledge for a beautiful photo of you and the Eiffel Tower.
Port Debilly
Port Debilly is the path that runs directly along the Seine. This area is perfect for a picnic while watching the Eiffel Tower. The best views of the Eiffel Tower are right next to Pont d’Iena. It’s also a perfect spot for a picnic. We got ourselves take-away poké bowls for dinner and enjoyed these while watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night. Absolutely a perfect date night! The evenings are more crowded than the afternoons, but you can always find a spot along the Seine. It’s also a very popular engagement spot. We watched 3 couples getting engaged right next to us!
Good to know: the Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour (at the top of the hour) for five minutes.
Avenue de Camoëns
Avenue de Camoëns offers a beautiful view of the typical Parisian houses together with the Eiffel Tower. It’s an insanely popular spot so the best time to visit would be right after sunrise. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for another photo spot to visit after sunrise, so we got here in the afternoon. Because of the crowds, we had to be creative with the angles but eventually we took some photos that worked out fine. Keep in mind that from this point of view, the sun rises behind the Eiffel Tower. This means that there’s a lot of backlight in the morning. If you don’t like backlit photos, it’s better to get here in the late afternoon or evening.
Metro ride Eiffel Tower view
Metro line 6 crosses the Seine above ground between the stations Passy and Bir-Hakeim and offers a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower. Hopping in this metro is a great way to create content, especially video content. From Passy, take the metro in the direction of Nation and find a spot on the left side of the carriage. From Bir-Hakeim, take the metro in the direction of Charles de Gaulle-Etoile and find a spot on the right side of the metro. A single one-way ticket (t+ ticket) is €1,90 and after validation, the t+ ticket is valid for 2 hours in the metro. In those 2 hours you can transfer as many times as you’d like. This means that within the time frame of 2 hours, you can travel between Passy and Bir-Hakeim as often as needed to create the content you want. Check this website for more information about t+ tickets.
Be aware that the t+ tickets have a magnetic strip that will demagnetize when it comes in contact with metal, making it unreadable and thus useless. We learned this the hard way. So be careful where you store your t+ ticket, and avoid pockets with keys!
Click here for the location of metro station Passy
Pont de Bir-Hakeim
The bridge which metro line 6 crosses is called Pont de Bir-Hakeim, which is a two-leveled bridge. The lower level is dedicated to cars, pedestrians and cyclists and the upper level is a viaduct through which the metro passes. The viaduct consists of metal colonnades, creating a unique look from the lower level of the bridge. Besides the quirky architecture of the bridge itself, the bridge also offers a great view of the Eiffel Tower.
Wisteria at the Eiffel Tower
If you happen to be in Paris during wisteria season, there’s a beautiful spot along the Seine with wisteria and that iconic Eiffel Tower view. Check out our blog post in which we share the best wisteria spots in Paris to find out this spot’s location and more beautiful wisteria spots in Paris!
Cherry blossoms at the Eiffel Tower
We happened to be in Paris during the start of wisteria season and the end of cherry blossom season (best of both worlds!) and we found a beautiful cherry blossom spot with great views of the Eiffel Tower. In our blog post about the best cherry blossom spots in Paris, we share the exact location to this spot. Of course this blog post is also filled with more cherry blossom spots in Paris!
The Best Photo Spots in Montmartre
Montmartre is probably the most picturesque neighborhood in Paris. It is known for its artistic history, as well as the famous cabaret and nightclub Moulin Rouge and of course the Sacré-Coeur. We loved wandering through the narrow streets of Montmartre, enjoying the historical buildings and greenery. Especially the area surrounding Rue de l’Abreuvoir is such a lovely place for a stroll.
La Maison Rose
You’ve probably seen this famous Instagrammable place a lot of times before. La Maison Rose is a pretty pink-and-green-colored restaurant in Montmartre. The colors of the restaurant as well as the beautiful green surroundings simply make it a great photo spot. We would advise going here right after sunrise to get the place to yourself. We only got photo-bombed by a waste-collection vehicle.
Rue de l’Abreuvoir
Rue de l’Abreuvoir is the street along which La Maison Rose is located and this is definitely the prettiest street in Montmartre. The end of the street, near Buste da Dalida, offers a breath-taking view of the beautiful buildings in the street, the surrounding greenery and, to top it off, the Sacré-Coeur. A huge advantage of being here right after sunrise is, besides no-one bombing your photo, the magical morning light. This photo spot is simply frame-worthy!
Sacré-Coeur
Of course, the Sacré-Coeur is a great photo spot, but to be honest we didn’t bother getting our tripod out. When we got to the Sacré-Coeur around 8 in the morning, it was already pretty crowded with groups of tourists that were (still or already) drunk. We just admired the beauty of the church and snapped some photos without us in it. If you want to take photos of you and the Sacré-Coeur, the best spot would be from Square Louise-Michel, which is the steep green area with stairs in front of the church.
Don’t forget to admire the amazing views over Paris from up the stairs
Sinking House of Montmartre
This fun photographic illusion has become a hit on Instagram in the past few years. The sinking house is located very close to the Sacré-Coeur. To get to this spot, head up all the stairs to the Sacré-Coeur. Turn your back to the church and go back down a few steps on the first flight of stairs. Look to your left and the orange house becomes visible. To create the illusion, shift your camera in such a way that the grass becomes a straight line. And there you have it, the orange house now looks like it’s sinking in the grass!
We’ve seen a lot of photos of people sitting on the grass, but the patch of grass is completely surrounded by a fence so judging by that, we don’t think you’re allowed to enter.
The Most Instagrammable cafés in Paris
Paris is home to a lot of Instagrammable cafés. During our stay, we were able to visit a few of them.
Pinky bloom
If you like pink and flowers, Pinky Bloom is a great restaurant to visit when in Paris. It’s a typical Instagrammable café, packed with a lot of people in a tiny place. Usually the food in these kinds of cafés is underwhelming, but the food here was pretty good. The staff was nice as well so overall it was a good experience. It’s also centrally located along the Seine on Avenue de New York so it’s perfect to combine lunch or dinner while sightseeing in Paris. You can easily book a table in advance through their website.
Café de Flore
Café de Flore is an insanely popular Instagrammable café. Unfortunately, they don’t take reservations so prepare to wait in line to get seated. We had to wait for 30 minutes to get a table for lunch. If the weather allows it, we would strongly recommend asking for a table on the terrace or if that’s not possible, in the conservatory. The interior is just not that interesting and because of the conservatory, you can’t really look outside to watch life on the streets. The prices of the drinks and food are very high, even for Paris. The quality of the food was good, but in general it’s hard finding a restaurant in France that serves bad food. If you only want to take a photo, it’s not necessary to eat or drink here. The most Instagrammable thing about Café de Flore is the façade with plants. You can easily take a candid photo of you and the façade while walking back and forth on the crossing next to the café.
La Favorite
Another café with an Instagrammable facade is La Favorite. We initially only planned on taking a photo of the façade here, but when we got there the terrace looked so inviting in the morning sun that we decided to stay for a second breakfast. Luckily for us, we got seated immediately. On a sunny morning, it’s absolutely a great place for breakfast! The people that showed up around 11:30 and asked for a table got turned away as they were fully booked for lunch. If you want to have lunch or dinner here, we would recommend making a reservation in advance. You can easily make a reservation on their website.
Au Vieux Paris
Au Vieux Paris is a restaurant located on Île de Cité. Every spring, the restaurant’s façade turns into a purple dream. When you’re in Paris during wisteria season this restaurant is absolutely a must-visit. Take a seat on the terrace and enjoy a cup of coffee/tea or an aperitif (fyi: they don’t serve soft drinks).
More Instagrammable Places in Paris
Besides the Eiffel Tower, the neighborhood of Montmartre and Instagrammable cafés, Paris obviously has many more amazing photo spots.
Petit Palais
Petit Palais is an art museum with a beautiful courtyard. The courtyard is filled with greenery and offers a nice view of the stunning architecture of the palace. There’s also a café with a terrace in the courtyard where you can have a cup of coffee while enjoying all the greenery around you. Admission to the permanent collection in Petit Palais (and the courtyard) is free of charge. Petit Palais is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 until 18:00. Don’t forget to take a look at the art collection when you’re there!
Don’t forget to take a look at the art collection in Petit Palais
Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier, also called Opéra Garnier, is a stunning opera house in Paris. Despite the name, Palais Garnier was never a palace and has always functioned as a theater. It’s called Palais Garnier because of the grandeur of the theater. Being referred to as a palace does justice to the opera house. Once inside, you’re immediately mesmerized by the splendor of the Grand Staircase. Once you’re done admiring the Grand Staircase, head over to the Grand Foyer to be impressed by this magnificent hall. The Grand Foyer actually looks a bit like a smaller version of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace. If you don’t have time to visit the Palace of Versailles, but want to indulge in the royal theme, Palais Garnier is the next best thing.
If you want to take photos in Palais Garnier, probably the best time to visit would be immediately when it opens. We visited around 2 in the afternoon and it was very crowded. Taking photos without people in it was impossible at that time.
Palais Garnier is open to visitors daily from 10:00 until 17:00, except on days with afternoon performances and exceptional closures. Check their website for current opening hours. The entrance fee is €14. We’d recommend buying tickets in advance online.
Rue Crémieux
Rue Crémieux is a street filled with colorful houses and is such a pretty photo spot. Each house has a different color and there are a lot of plants in front of the houses, making it such a vibrant place. Compared to the rest of Paris, this street is very unique. We visited this street right after sunrise and had the entire street to ourselves. Please be aware that people are actually living in the houses so keep your voice down and respect their privacy, at any time of the day.
Place des Vosges
Place des Vosges is a beautiful square in Paris. The square features four fountains, lots of patches of grass and is completely surrounded by pretty orange-colored historical buildings. Besides being a great photo spot, it’s also a great place to have a picnic when it’s sunny out. Or combine the two and have a picnic while taking photos.
Rooftop Terrace of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann
Galeries Lafayette Haussmann is a shopper’s paradise. Even if you’re not interested in shopping, Galeries Lafayette is a must-visit. The architecture is amazing, especially on the inside. The huge stained glass dome will take your breath away. The best spot to admire the dome would be from any of the balconies on the higher floors.
The dome and balconies in Galeries Lafayette Haussmann
Once you’re done admiring the dome, it’s time to marvel at the view over Paris from the rooftop. Take the escalator to the top floor and look for signs hanging on the ceiling indicating the stairs to the rooftop. If you want to take photos here, we’d recommend going as early as possible. We got up there in the late afternoon and it was almost impossible to take good photos. With a lot of patience and angle creativity, we managed to get a few good shots but we also had a lot of photobombers.
Pont des Arts
Pont des Arts is a bridge crossing the Seine and was previously known as the Love Lock Bridge. Due to safety concerns, but also because the Parisians thought the locks on the bridge were ugly, all locks were removed in 2015. Luckily, the view from the bridge remains the same, with or without locks. We specifically like the view of Île de la Cité, located east from the bridge.
Place de l’Estrapade
For the Emily in Paris fans among us, Place de l’Estrapade is the square that’s in front of Emily’s apartment in the series. The iconic fountain backed by Emily’s apartment building is a pretty photo spot if you ask us. If you want to tick off another Emily in Paris spot: Gabriel’s restaurant is located right across the street. In real life, Gabriel’s restaurant is actually an Italian restaurant called Terra Nova. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed when we got there.
Rue Saint-Julien le Pauvre
This pretty street Rue Saint-Julien le Pauvre is located in the neighborhood Quartier Latin, one of the most crowded neighborhoods in Paris. This street features the typical Parisian buildings as well as the famous patisserie Odette. We didn’t try their cream puff cakes so we can’t tell how they are, but they look delicious. When we got there in the late afternoon, it was quite challenging to take a photo as the area is flooded with tourists and tour groups. The best time to take a photo here would be early in the morning so you can beat the crowds.
We hope we’ve inspired you to visit Paris with these Instagrammable places. Have you been to Paris or is it still on your travel bucket list? Let us know in the comments below!
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