One rarely thinks of Paris as a Winter Wonderland and yet… We landed on a snowy Tuesday morning and headed down South on a snowy Friday morning. In between, we spent our time doing what we usually do: walking in the streets, strolling on the quays, enjoying the parks… and making frequent stops in the covered passages and in cafés to warm up. This photo essay showcases many familiar locations. You'll see that Paris sous la neige looks quite different from Paris sous la pluie! Last week, for just a few days, Paris was the City of White.
Who wants to go for a ride?
Buses were rare but one can always count on the métro. The trick is to figure out the name of the station...
Mairie of the 3rd arrondissement. The duck was indecisive. Fearing cold water, perhaps?
Square du Temple, 3rd arrondissement
I thought the Père Lachaise cemetery would provide some interesting photo opportunities but it was closed because of the snow. We walked along the perimeter wall.
Life goes on and so does this outdoor market in the 20th arrondissement.
Passage de l'Ancre, 3rd arrondissement
Rue Montorgeuil, 2nd arrondissement
Luckily, Palais Royal was open.
Gardens at Palais Royal
I never get tired of the symmetry at Palais Royal.
In the Tuileries gardens, these birds might be cold but not hungry!
The Tuileries gardens are dotted with statues. I'll call this one The Juggler.
The Louvre and Pont Royal from Quai Voltaire on the Left Bank
Only a few bouquinistes were brave enough to open their green stalls.
Around the equestrian statue of Henri IV on Pont Neuf, the snow "almost" hides the visual assault of a plethora of love locks.
Snow-covered vegetation outlines the triangular tip of a still flooded Square du Vert-Galant.
A truly "wooly" mammoth guards the Galerie de Paléontologie on rue Buffon.
A heavily blanketed Jardin des Plantes
Viaduc d'Austerlitz and houseboats from Pont d'Austerlitz
One of the hotels on Cité Bergère in the 9th arrondissement
Place de la République
Cold and snowy on rue du Temple
Daybreak on rue du Vertbois
Gardens of the Hôtel de Soubise, Archives Nationales de Paris
Square St Gilles at Hôtel du Grand Veneur
Place des Vosges, stunning in all seasons
Ephemeral statue at Hôtel de Sully
Square Jean XXIII, behind Notre-Dame-de-Paris
Looking toward Quai de Montebello
A snow angel behind Notre-Dame; seems appropriate.
Dedicated piano player on Pont St-Louis, the bridge between Ile de la Cité and Ile St-Louis.
Quai Bourbon at the western tip of Ile St-Louis