WHERE TO SEE THE LIGHTS OF PARIS IN THE BLUE HOUR

I am missing Paris so much recently, but those are not news: if I could, I would go to Paris twice a year at least for three weeks, maybe if I could I would live in Paris. In my last trip to Paris I went specifically to take pictures of my bokeh obsession in the blue hour, and I want to share with you which are, for me, the best places to be in the blue hour at “La Ville Lumiere” or the “City of Lights”.

First, the blue hour is that short period of time between the end of the sunset and the beginning of the night, I feel this moment of the day is quite special because of the unique colors in the sky, the sky turns dark blue, sometimes with subtle pink orange shades, and if you are in a city this combination between the colors of the sky and the lights of the city is simply magical. On the other hand, I feel this moment has something spiritual, it is a very contemplative moment, it is so short and unique. Now, if you are in Paris the magic is double. 

The place that I remember with more passion or that makes my heart beat faster is the view from the top of L’arch de Triomphe. Depending on the time of the year you have to calculate the hour of the “blue hour” to arrive on time, for L’Arch de Triomphe is better to arrive even earlier because you have to buy the tickets, make the line and climb the infinite spiral stairs. The view from here when the lights turn on, specially when the lights of the Eiffel tower turn on, is i m p r e s s i v e, it is just startling, amazing, insane, crazy; the Eiffel Tower lights look like diamonds in the city, and you just can’t stop watching and marveling yourself. The thing is that the Eiffel Tower looks so shiny between the lights of the city, and at the same time it looks kind of small. I think this picture doesn’t make justice to the stunning moment, but sometimes even pictures are not enough to represent experiences. 

View from the top of L'arch de Triomphe

If you want a more romantic and chill place to watch the Paris lights in the blue hour I recommend you the quay by the Pont de La Tournelle in the Île St. Louis, from here you can see the lights of the Notre Dame cathedral and the quay lights, it is so beautiful and peaceful. You can bring a bottle of wine and wait for the lights to turn on while talking about the absurd of the life with your friend or lover (like a french haha), in Paris, at least in September, the city lights turn on very late, almost at night, but you can still have them at the blue hour. This was the first place where I saw the lights in the blue hour in my last trip, I was with Sebastian and the moment was simply romantic.

Quay Latournelle in Ile st. Louis

Notre Dame Cathedral

Another stunning and startling place to see the lights in the blue hour is, of course, the Pont Alexandre III, this pont in itself is marvelous at any time of the day, now imagine it when its lights turn on and you feel you are in a 19th century novel and you just need a carriage and a long big red dress with a hat. And if that is not enough, wait for the moment when the Eiffel tower lights on, it is too much. For a great view I recommend you see the bridge from more distance in a quay, you can contemplate it wholly, it is a show, a spectacle, and here, the blue hour is specially beautiful, when the sky turns all dark you feel like some amazing show has ended, it’s a bit sad.

Pont Alexandre III

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Obviously the Eiffel Tower cannot be missed, from Trocadero, you have to arrive early if you want to have a good spot. I remember the first time I saw the lights turn on in the Eiffel Tower, everybody said “oooooooh” at the same time, some others screamed from the emotion of the beauty, yes, it is like that, I am not exaggerating. The lights are on for 15 minutes then they turn on again after 20 minutes or so. Paris, why you are so incredibly beautiful and don’t let us humans live in our oh so real life and we always want to come back to you? I definitely need to live in Paris for a year or at least for three months or a semester. 

The Eiffel Tower from Trocadero

Rue Lepic in Montmartre is a lovely place to be and walk in the blue hour when its lamp lights turn on, I was with Sebastian and it was our last night in Paris and we were so tired but the atmosphere in Montmartre was so bohemian and romantic that we just enter a bistro to have some hot wines and asking ourselves why these moments are not longer and remembering all the lovely moments of my most romantic trip ever. 

I don’t have decent pictures from rue Lepic at that moment because the bokeh thing didn’t work, this effect just works with certain types of lights and street lamps, I also tried to take some pictures from Pont de Iena by the Eiffel tower but I couldn’t arrive early enough, I really love this view. Then we tried from the Lafayette terrace but it closed very early, but we had a delicious pavlova at the best patisserie in the world: Café Pouchkine. Very recommended! It is in the galleries Lafayette. 

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