Paris Paris, Always a Good Idea, The City of Lights

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Each year during fashion season I travel to Paris to shoot the shows. One year I decided not to take cabs or the Metro but walk to each show taking different routes and shoot pictures along the way.

Eiffel Tower from Pont Alexandre III

Widely regarded as the most ornate and extravagant, the Beaux-Arts style, Pont Alexandre III Bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, spanning the Seine in Paris was built between 1896 and 1900. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The ornate lamps glow as well as the strobes on the Eiffel Tower that put on a five minute show at the top of the hour. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero

Walking through the Trocadero at sunrise, a model and balloons. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Rainy day in Paris

Pyramide du Louvre

Pyramide du Louvre at dusk. The famous large glass and metal pyramid in the Cour Napoléon of Palais du Louvre in Paris serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum, designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei and completed in 1989. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Eiffel Tower

Figurine from one of the two Fontaines de la Concorde

Water showers over a figurine from one of the two Fontaines de la Concorde located in the center of Paris. Completed in 1840 The south fountain commemorates the maritime commerce and industry of France, and the north fountain commemorates navigation and commerce on the rivers of France. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, not to be confused with Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, a triumphal arch in Paris, is located in the Place du Carrousel, a public square in the open end of the courtyard of the Louvre Palace. It sits directly between the museum and the Tuileries Garden. It was built between 1806 and 1808 to commemorate Napoleon's military victories of the previous year. The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, at the far end of the Champs Élysées, was designed in the same year; is about twice the size and was not completed until 1836. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Sunrise over Notre Dame

Couple in Paris

Paris, the city of love, the city of lights. What I notice every time I come are the elderly couples. They take time out of their day to walk together and use their hands, not holding a cell phone but to hold hands. They talk with each other, shop together. It is the city of romance, not only for the young at heart, but for those who are truly in love.. On the banks of the River Seine. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Pyramide du Louvre

The famous large glass and metal pyramid in the Cour Napoléon of Palais du Louvre in Paris serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum, designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei and completed in 1989. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Notre Dame Spire

Eiffel Sundial

Eiffel Sundial The shadow of the Eiffel Tower moves along the Banks of the River Seine. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Directions

Notre Dame and the Seine

Dawn Moon over the Seine

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Dusk on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, one of the most beautiful streets in all the world. It’s only 1.2 miles long but 230 ft. wide, running between the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde. Known for its luxury shops, cafés, and theaters it is also home to the annual Bastille Day military parade, and finish of the Tour de France cycle race. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Eiffel Tower Park

Eiffel Tower at Dawn

Le Saint Germain

Streets of Paris

Bicyclist in Paris

Eiffel Towers

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower Park

Morning Moon Over Eiffel

Guerlain

Guerlain is among the oldest French perfume houses in the world, founded in Paris in 1828 by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain who composed and manufactured custom fragrances with his two sons. Through the patronage of members in high society, Guerlain put its mark on the Parisian fashion scene. Success peaked in 1853 with the creation of Eau de Cologne Impérial as a gift for Empress Eugénie, the wife of French emperor Napoléon III. She liked the composition so much she named Guerlain the prestigious title of being His Majesty's Official Perfumer. Over a century and a half later, the cologne is still in regular production. Guerlain went on to create perfumes for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Queen Isabella II of Spain. Here on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, their flagship store. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Love in Paris

Louvre at Dusk

Louvre Stairway

Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe, one of the most famous monuments in Paris stands at the western end of the Champs Élysées and is also known for its twelve radiating avenues. It honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. © Joe Polimeni Photography

The Louvre Palace

The Louvre Palace located between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois was originally a fortress built in the medieval period. It became a royal palace in the fourteenth century. Its present structure has evolved in stages since the 16th century. In 1793 part of the Louvre became a public museum, now the Musée du Louvre, which has expanded to occupy most of the building. The present-day Louvre Palace is a vast complex of wings and pavilions on four main levels, the result of many phases of building, modification, destruction and restoration. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Metro Map

Louvre

“Paris Love Locks”

A 2006 Italian young adult novel-turned-film is thought to have created the “Love Lock” craze, it came to Paris around 2008. For years, visitors have been attaching locks with sentimental messages to the Pont des Arts bridge in symbolic acts of affection. It was considered charming at first, but the thrill wore off as sections of fencing on the bridge crumbled under the locks' weight of more than 700,000 locks. The phenomenon spread to other bridges, creating major concerns: degradation of property heritage and a risk to the safety of Parisians and tourists. The city of Paris started removing padlocks from the Pont des Arts in 2015, effectively ending the tradition. Despite the removal, there are still sporadic “Love Locks” throughout the city. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Louvre

Lovure

Eiffel Tower

Newspaper stand in Paris

Pont Alexandre III

Place de la Concorde

Under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, the Place de la Concorde is the largest public square in Paris. It was the site of many notable public executions during the French Revolution. At each of the eight angles of the octagonal Place is a statue representing cities in France. Each of the female figures has different attributes that relate to the city. This particular statue, Marseille, produced by famed sculptor Louis Petitot, who has many works throughout Paris, was completed in 1836. © Joe Polimeni Photography

Tuileries Gardens

Sunrise at Le Jardin du Luxembourg

Le Jardin du Luxembourg

Joe Polimeni Photography

Paris Always a Good Idea