Sunrise is the one hour when the well-known places are close to empty, and in autumn it comes late. In mid-October the sun rises in Paris at about 8:10 and sets at about 19:00. Clocks go back on 25 October 2026, and after that sunrise is near 7:30 and sunset near 17:40.
One transport note for this autumn. Metro line 6 is cut between Charles de Gaulle-Étoile and La Motte-Picquet-Grenelle on Sunday 18 October, 8 November and 22 November 2026. On those days line 6 does not serve Trocadéro, Passy or Bir-Hakeim. Line 9 still stops at Trocadéro, and replacement buses run along the closed section.
Trocadéro esplanade
Stand on the terrace between the two wings of the Palais de Chaillot, or walk down to the Warsaw fountain and put the water in the foreground. You look southeast at the Eiffel Tower from here, so the sun comes up behind it or to its left, and by late afternoon it lights the side facing you. Come at sunrise for space, at sunset for light on the tower. Metro: Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9). I shoot here often.
After dark the tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of each hour. The last one is at midnight for most of the year and at 1 am in summer.
Pont de Bir-Hakeim
The bridge has two levels. Line 6 runs on a steel viaduct on top, held up by rows of metal columns, and under it there is a central pedestrian strip. Stand on that strip and shoot along the columns. A cycle lane runs under the viaduct too, so look behind you before stepping back. For the tower, walk to the middle of the bridge, upstream side, to the balcony with the equestrian statue La France renaissante: the tower stands over the Seine with nothing in front of it. The tower is to the northeast, so evening light falls on the side you see. Early morning suits the arcade. Metro: Bir-Hakeim on the left bank, Passy on the right (both line 6).
Avenue de Camoëns
A 115-metre street in the 16th arrondissement that ends, for cars, at a stone staircase dropping about ten metres to Boulevard Delessert. Stand at the top of the stairs with Rue Benjamin-Franklin behind you. The tower sits between the apartment buildings on both sides. Arrive before 9 am. Metro: Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9).
Rue de l'Université
Go to the far western end, in the 7th arrondissement, where the street stops in a dead end at Allée Paul-Deschanel beside the tower's northeast garden. It is about two minutes on foot from the north side of the tower. Just after sunrise there are fewer people and fewer parked cars along the kerb. People live here, so keep doorways clear. Metro: École Militaire (line 8), then walk towards the tower.
Pont Alexandre III
The bridge runs between the Invalides and the Grand Palais, with four pylons topped by gilded figures and 32 bronze lamp posts. Use the downstream pavement if you want the Eiffel Tower behind the lamps. Sunrise gives you the bridge without crowds, dusk gives you the lamps lit. Metro: Invalides (lines 8 and 13, RER C).
Louvre, Cour Napoléon
The courtyard with the pyramid is open from 7:30 am to 9 pm. The museum opens at 9, so the hour before that is the calm one, and on Tuesdays the museum is closed and there is no entry queue around the pyramid at all. From late October the sun sets before 17:45, which leaves more than three hours of darkness before the gates close. The Cour Carrée next door closes earlier, at 7:45 pm. From 17 October to 1 November 2026 the museum requires reservations, so expect busy days. Metro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7).
Palais Royal, the Buren columns
The 260 striped columns stand in the courtyard next to the Ministry of Culture. This is a gated national domain: open from 8 am to 8:30 pm from October to March, and until 10:30 pm from April to September. Entry is free. Be there at 8, when the gates open. The domain is run by the Centre des monuments nationaux and is not one of the gardens managed by the City of Paris. Metro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7).
Galerie Vivienne
A covered passage from 1823, 176 metres long, with a mosaic floor and a glass roof, close to the Palais Royal. It is open every day from 8:30 am to 8 pm, with entrances at 4 Rue des Petits-Champs, 5 Rue de la Banque and 6 Rue Vivienne. Light comes from above, so it works on a rainy day. It is a private passage open to the public. Go at 8:30. Metro: Bourse (line 3).
Place Vendôme
The square is 124 metres wide and lies on a north-south line between Rue de la Paix and Rue de Castiglione, with the column in the centre. Morning sun lights the western facades and evening sun the eastern ones, so pick your side by the hour. Stand on the Rue de Castiglione side to centre the column. Metro: Tuileries (line 1), Pyramides (lines 7 and 14) or Madeleine (lines 8, 12 and 14).
Arc de Triomphe
From the top of the Champs-Élysées you face west-northwest, so in the late afternoon the sun is behind the arch or just to its left. Morning puts light on the face you see. Do not cross the roundabout on foot: the way to the arch is the underground Passage du Souvenir, from the top of the Champs-Élysées or Avenue de la Grande-Armée. The terrace is 284 steps up and gives a view of the Eiffel Tower. From October to March it is open until 10:30 pm, with last admission 45 minutes earlier. Tripods and selfie sticks are banned inside. Metro: Charles de Gaulle-Étoile (lines 1, 2 and 6, RER A).
Montmartre, Rue de l'Abreuvoir
A cobbled lane 133 metres long, from Rue des Saules to Place Dalida. La Maison Rose, the pink café, is at number 2, on the corner with Rue des Saules. Go early in the day. Autumn is quieter here than summer. Metro: Lamarck-Caulaincourt (line 12).
Pont des Arts
A pedestrian-only bridge between the Louvre and the Institut de France. The love locks are gone: the mesh railings were removed in June 2015 and replaced with glass panels. Looking upstream you have the Pont Neuf and the Île de la Cité, which is the sunrise side. Metro: Louvre-Rivoli (line 1) or Pont Neuf (line 7).
Ilia Pisarenko photographs portraits and couples at these places in Paris. His work is at pisarenko.art and on Instagram at @by.pisarenko.