Photo by Joe Newman

Last week, I decided to make my first visit to the MLK Memorial, which opened last year on the tidal basin, south of the National Mall. I figured I’d take some photos at sunset but the steady stream of tour bus traffic was a major turnoff.  The night wasn’t a total waste, as I stopped by the National World War II Memorial on the walk back. I didn’t have a lot of time but used my Gorillapod to take some long exposure shots.

The WWII Memorial sits in between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and is in the section of the National Mall that includes the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. During the day, I think the Vietnam War Memorial and the Korean War Memorial are the more popular draws. You really can’t match the visual impact of the Vietnam War Memorial — it just has a solemn, overwhelming presence. The Korean War Memorial, with its statues of soldiers on patrol, puts visitors “there.” The World War II Memorial, on the other hand, is a little more all over the place with its symbolic pillars and other various monuments.

At night, however, it’s a different story. The World War II Memorial literally transforms as the lights illuminate the fountain and cast interesting shadows on the pillars.

If you’re going to take photographs at night and you have to choose between one of the three war memorials, the World War II Memorial wins hands down. The pool has two big fountains on each end with a ring of water spouts all the way around. Looking west, you can frame the Lincoln Memorial and to the east, the Washington Monument.

While I’d recommend a tripod for a night shoot, there are enough walls and benches to sit a camera on that you could actually make do without one.

However, if you’re looking to shoot the fountain while it’s lit up, you’ll have to do it after sunset, rather than before sunrise as the lights shut off at some point during the night.

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Flickr photo by Moyan_Brenn

One of the great things about Paris is the low-rise skyline gives the city such an intimate feel. It also makes it easy to get some great, unobstructed views of the Paris skyline.

1. Notre Dame Cathedral in the 4th arrondissement. I love the photo above (Copyright by Moyan_Brenn) taken from the tower at the Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral’s iconic gargoyle casts a gaze across the city, with the river Seine, Eiffel Tower and the skyscrapers of La Défense business district in the background.

I had every intention of capturing something similar to Moyan’s photo but didn’t realize that the tower closes at 5:30 p.m. from October through March (last access to the tower is 45 minutes before closing). Ack. Don’t make the same mistake if you go. Check the schedule.

Luckily, there are plenty of other places to see the skyline. (See four more suggestions after the jump)

Photo by Joe Newman

Photo by Joe Newman

2. Sacré-Cœur Basilica on Montmarte in the 18th arrondissement. The basilica is in the hills on the north side of Paris and is easily accessible by the metro. We took the green line to the Lamarck Caulaincourt station and walked uphill to the basilica. Of course, there are other options, including a cable car. There’s a vibrant scene on the steps in front of the basilica. The day we were there, there was a singer-songwriter entertaining the crowd, guys kicking a soccer ball around, vendors hawking cheap souvenirs and some other guys working the crowd selling beers on the sly. Montmarte is the highest point in Paris and gives you a great view of the city, except …. and it’s a big except …. the Eiffel Tower is off to the side and out of the frame of your best skyline shot. You can still see the Eiffel Tower from the basilica but it’s somewhat of an obstructed view.

Flickr photo by peteranddorota

3. Tour Montparnasse in the 15th arrondissement. This is the tallest skyscraper outside of La Défense and the only one in the city’s center. Getting there is easy, just find your way to the Montparnasse — Bienvenüe metro stop. The nearly 700-foot tall office building is considered by many Parisians a horrible eyesore. We did not visit the Montparnasse on our trip but the panoramic views from the terrace are stunning. A ticket to the terrace is 8 Euros. You can find information about visiting here. Be aware that there has been an issue with asbestos in the building, though officials contend visitors to the terrace are not at risk.

4. The Eiffel Tower on the Champ de Mars in the 7th arrondissment. Okay, you can’t visit Paris without heading to the Eiffel Tower. Of course, we went to the tower on our trip but we skipped going up the tower to any of the three levels open to visitors. Great views but, of course, none of your pictures will have the Eiffel Tower in it. Most tour guides recommend that you buy tickets in advance if you plan on going up the tower during your visit.

Photo by Joe Newman

5. Printemps Department Store, 64 Boulevard Haussman in the 2nd arrondissement. It’s an easy walk to the store from the Opera Metro station. The store takes up two blocks and you’ll have to ask someone for directions to the Le Déli-Cieux rooftop restaurant. It’s free to get to the roof and you’ll have a view that includes the Eiffel Tower, Tour Montparnasse and Les Invalides. The day we were there, there were only a handful of people on the roof. So if you want to avoid the crowds of tourists, this might be your best shot.

Obviously, there are plenty of other places to take great photos of the city and some may even be better than the ones I’ve mentioned. I could have listed the Centre Georges Pompidou, though you won’t get as much elevation. Tickets to the museum are 13 Euros, though you can get an observation area-only ticket for just 3 Euros.

Photos by Joe Newman

From the UNESCO description: “From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, from the Place de la Concorde to the Grand and Petit Palais, the evolution of Paris and its history can be seen from the River Seine. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Sainte Chapelle are architectural masterpieces while Haussmann’s wide squares and boulevards influenced late 19th- and 20th-century town planning the world over.”

If you go: I usually forgo organized walking tours but on this trip, we took one through Sight Seeker’s Delight and really enjoyed it. It was a small, manageable group of 11. We were all Americans except for our guide and her friend.  Our guide, Hanna, an Australian actress studying mime in Paris, was energetic, knowledgeable and entertaining. The tour took about four hours and included a stop for lunch. A cheaper alternative (the walking tour cost us 40 euro each) would be to buy any number of guide books and plan your own walk at your own pace. Another great way to see the sights on the Seine is to buy a fare on the Batobus, which loops through Paris and allows you to get off and on at any number of stops along the way. We did the Batobus on our third day and it was a welcome change of pace from all the walking.

Photo by Joe Newman

Paris is a great place to visit any time of the year, but if you’re going to go in March, it’s probably a good idea to pack a raincoat and an umbrella. This picture was taken shortly after we finished a walking tour that was interrupted by a downpour. Lamia is standing on the north end of the Pont Alexandre III, looking toward Place des  Invalides, which houses Napolean’s tomb.

Cross-posted at Zenfolio.

Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris || Sony Pictures

In preparation for our trip to Paris this Friday, I’ve been watching Netflix movies set in the City of Light.

First up was the French film Paris, the Juliette Binoche and Romain Duris movie about the parallel lives of several Parisians. It has the subtlety of a Raymond Carver short story with the the way it weaves the stories together, if only casually. While strong performances by Binoche and Duris carry the film, I’m not sure it did a lot to enlighten me about Parisian life and culture.

So the next choice was obvious — a 180-degree change of pace with From Paris with Love, a John Travolta/Jonathan Rhys Meyers action-thriller-spy flick, which an IMBD.com user succinctly summed up: “This movie is basically about two guys going around blowing stuff up in Paris.” An awful movie on the one hand, but on the other, it did open with an artsy, shaky montage of Meyers driving along The Seine with views of the Louvre,  Eiffel Tower and Pont Alexandre III, not to mention the beautiful soundtrack opener of Madeleine Peyroux’  J’ai Deux Amours.

The problem is my third choice was Two Days in Paris, a (anti)-romantic comedy written, directed and starring Julie Delpy. The movie was funny and, of the three, really gives you the best sense of place. The problem is Delpy does too good of a job bringing the stereotypes of Parisians as rude, sex-crazed and intolerant and of Americans as clueless and self-absorbed to the screen. I could see myself in Jack’s (Adam Goldberg’s character) shoes, as the witless bystander who doesn’t understand a word that’s being said as Delpy converses with her family, ex-lovers and racist taxi drivers. As it is, Jack is probably better off not knowing. In one scene, as Delpy and Goldberg are kicked out of a cafe, Delpy turns and says that the cafe staff are giving Paris a bad name. Exactly.

All of this got me thinking about what films would make my personal “Top 10 List of Movies Set in Paris,” with the caveat that these are movies I’ve actually seen. So yeah, I’m sure that leaves out a whole bunch of films that are better than the ones on my list.

First the easy calls: Midnight in Paris, Before Sunrise, Last Tango in Paris and Breathless, probably in reverse order. Go ahead and add Paris and Two Days in Paris to the list, and that gives me six solid choices that could arguably make anyone’s top 10.

Now it gets a little tougher. How about Before Sunset, the sequel to Before Sunrise? I liked the follow-up set 10 years later but  I wonder if it stands on its own merits, or if there’s lingering nostalgia from the original Richard Linklater film, which also starred Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy? While some critics prefer the sequel (which Hawke and Delpy co-wrote), to me, the original was so bitingly poignant that it was a shame Hawke and Delpy felt compelled to make a sequel. When the first movie ended, you were left wondering whether Hawke and Delpy would keep their promise or whether they’d live a lifetime of wondering how things might have been.  That’s what made the scene at the train station so powerful and lasting — we all have our “what if” moments. Why ruin the endless possibilities?

I’ll add Before Sunset to my list, which I realize gives me three Julie Delpy movies.

The final three? I’m down to choosing between the Bourne Identity, Julie & Julia, Da Vinci Code, Taken, Everyone Says I Love You, Frantic, Forget Paris, Prêt-à-Porter and French Kiss. For some of these films, I’ve only got vague recollections of plot lines. Weren’t Forget Paris and French Kiss the same movie, you know, sort of When Harry and Sally Went to Paris?

I’ll play it safe and put Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You and Roman Polanski’s Frantic in the 8th and 9th spots.

But I can’t in good conscience put any of the others onto a top 10 list (Sorry Meryl). Okay, I could put Bourne Identity on there but while some of it was filmed in Paris, it really wasn’t a movie set in Paris.

What to do? I guess I’ll put this list aside until Hugo gets to Netflix.