Paris, France - Anna Wu Photography

Paris. With its reputation for romance and its streets packed with history, art, and culture, it’s probably safe to call it one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And though this wasn’t my first trip to Paris, the only other time I had been was on a tour with my AP European History class in high school. So I eagerly returned to the city with fresh (grown-up, photographer) eyes.

This entire trip happened on a whim when I saw my friend Sherry post on Facebook that they had a group of three planning to visit France and Italy and were looking for a fourth to join them. I didn’t know the other two people on the trip and had only met Sherry a handful of times, but I looked at the blank spot in my calendar, and I soon found myself booking tickets to Paris and back from Rome. KAMS in Europe was born: Kristin, Anna, Michael, and Sherry. We spent two weeks adventuring around France and Italy, and the whole thing was kicked off with four days in beautiful Paris.

It’s a long post below, but a lovely one.

We stayed in an airbnb in Le Marais, a beautiful, historic part of town.

Obsessed with the herringbone floors in our apartment.

We arrived just days after the city had taken down the locks on the Pont des Arts bridge. But there were more locks to be found on all the adjacent bridges instead.

New favorite boutique: Merci.

We spent five hours individually roaming around the Louvre. I ran into everyone else in the group at least once, but none of them ran into each other the entire time.

Brunch with my friend Cindy who has been living in Paris for the last couple years, becoming a pastry chef! Can’t wait to see what she does next in life.

As lovely, famous, and expansive as the Louvre is, I quickly realized I’m really not that into antiquities, and a visit to Musée d’Orsay quickly satiated my love of impressionism and slightly more modern art. Plus its setting in an old train station didn’t hurt.

Back across the Seine, d’Orsay’s sister museum, Musée de l’Orangerie houses some beautiful Monet waterlilly murals.

I lingered in these two beautifully-designed oval rooms until closing.

Monet designed these pieces specifically for this site. The giant skylights illuminate the rooms beautifully, with four curved panels that portray Monet’s famous waterlillies in different times of day and season.

Finally, on our last night in Paris, we headed up the hill to Montmartre.

Overlooking the city from Sacre Coeur.

I wish I could be those two people on the rooftop overlooking paris!

Visit Paris, France:

Visit: Merci, an adorable boutique in Le Marais
Walk: Grab macarons from Pierre Herme and visit the Seine, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower in one long walk across the city.
Museum hop: Spend an afternoon visiting the Mona Lisa and others in the sprawling Louvre. Or if you prefer Impessionism to antiquities, be sure to visit d’Orsay and l’Orangerie instead.

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco but often traveling and working around the world. She creates beautiful, soft, and timeless imagery while capturing the most fleeting of moments. View her work at annawu.com, follow her daily adventures on instagram, or contact her to book your own session today.

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