Eiffel Tower Illumination

Precisely on the hour each evening after nightfall, the illuminated Eiffel Tower sparkles with thousands of strobe lights. The show goes on for the first 10 minutes after the hour. The prime observation point is the terrace of the Palais de Chaillot, just across the Seine, but in fact you can enjoy the sparkles from anywhere within the city with a view of the tower.

Palais de Chaillot Plaza

You come here in the evening to enjoy the sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower, but you also see hordes of skateboarders, couples in love, kids sliding down the bannisters and railings, street performers...the entire panoply of Paris street life. You'll also find plenty of vendors wanting to sell you Eiffel Towers of all sizes and colors. And watch out for pick pockets!

Pont des Arts

Every evening when it's warm enough to linger outside, the pedestrian-only Pont des Arts is alive with groups of young people picnicking, singing, dancing, enjoying the evening air. Buskers and street performers look for willing audiences, a few hawkers look for customers, and everyone partakes of the mellow atmosphere. We also discovered it was a great place to ring in the New Year!

Walks Along the Seine

You've walked along the Seine at street level, but have you descended to the walkways right along the river? Lots of people do. They stroll, they sit, they smooch, they watch the brightly-lit river cruise boats pass and repass, and they enjoy the moment—incomparable—of being by the Seine in Paris on a lovely evening. As described so well by the Kingston Trio:

The Seine, the Seine
When will I again
Meet her there
Greet her there
By the moonlit banks of the Seine.

Free Concerts

You may be amazed at how much free music there is to be enjoyed in Paris at night. The city government sponsors many free concerts in the city parks—popular music, jazz, folk, classical, gospel, whatever. Some churches offer free organ recitals and other musical offerings. Look at posters on streets and doors, or on line at Pariscope, and you'll find more than enough free performances to fill a week.

Street Performers

Try this: stroll around Paris at night, crossing and re-crossing the Seine on its bridges, and you will be astonished at the number of street performers you will encounter. Musicians, poets, circus artists, mimes—they ply their arts on the bridges, those causeways through which the entire population of Paris must pass. If you donate, I suppose it's not free. But then, if you donate, I guess you got your money's worth.