I was in Paris for a couple of days recently and took a few photos. Here’re some of the ones I liked. Unfortunately I didn’t have a lot of time to go around, so there isn’t too much by way of subject matter here. Still, here they are :)
This was taken from Esplanade de La Défense, looking out on Avenue Charles De Gaulle toward Arc de Triomphe:
The same photo in black and white:
Arc de Triomphe:
Pigeon gathering near Arc de Triomphe:
Entrance tunnel to climb up Arc de Triomphe:
I bought a ticket to go up in Arc de Triomphe. I climbed 284 steps (and evaded several people who had stopped climbing in the middle for a rest) on a windy circular staircase to reach the mezzanine. I came across this scary looking dude with a dragon on his head there:
I climbed up another (much smaller) flight of stairs to reach the souvenir shop level, and saw this soldier statue there:
One last staircase:
And I was through to the roof. Here’s a view of Grande Arche de La Défense in the distance. I like how Avenue Charles de Gaulle is visible almost all the way through.
This is a view of the road adjacent to Avenue de la Grande Armée (which becomes Avenue Charles de Gaulle). I think it’s called Avenue Foch.
This is a view of both Avenue Foch and Avenue Charles de Gaulle:
This is a view of Champs-Élysées from the top of Arc de Triomphe:
This is a view of Champs-Élysées from the ground:
Avenue de la Grande Armée:
I also saw an old taxi going through the roundabout. I tried to get a photo of it, but it was moving pretty fast and this was the best I could do:
This is an alley off Champs-Élysées:
The next two photos are views of the Tour Eiffel from the top of Arc de Triomphe. I remember seeing this as a 10 year old kid. I was expecting it to be pretty small and disappointing, but when I first laid eyes on it I was stunned by how awesome it was.
The next two are from Jardins du Trocadéro. It was a really overcast and dark day, so it was hard to get good photos.
One of the things I love about the Tour Eiffel is the fact that names of great French scientists and mathematicians are engraved on the sides. Here’re a few (I recognized Laplace, Lavoisier and Ampere):
This is a view from the bottom:
Champ de Mars:
There was a (probably temporary) construction at the end of Champ de Mars that had the word “peace” written on it in several languages:
A view of Tour Eiffel from Champ de Mars:
Barges on the river Seine:
Graffiti and a carousel. I’m told by my parents that I used to love carousels as a kid. Apparently they had to turn my face away from the ones we would pass by when we were traveling. If they didn’t I would apparently not let them move until I had been on it. Of course, I have no recollection of any of this.
From the base of Grande Arche de La Défense:
From Esplanade de La Défense near Les Quatres Temps (this whole area is desrted on the weekends):
Fountain by Les Quatres Temps:
