Day vs Evening for Certain European Sights

[Ian S]

We are traveling to London Paris and Amsterdam in May and planning our stops in each city. We have booked a tour out of London that takes us to Bath and then on to Stonehenge for an early evening tour that not only avoids the crowds but also permits entry into the inner circle that's apparently not available during the day. It sounds intriguing to us as well as it should afford some interesting photos in the waning light at dusk. Any thoughts on the pros and cons? Also it's got me to wondering if an evening tour would also be good for the Eiffel Tower. Others have suggested to do the Montparnasse Tower at night and the Eiffel Tower during the day. BTW, one of us has toured the Eiffel Tour before, the other has not.

That reminds me, are these "avoid the lines" tours worth the extra cost? I'd certainly prefer not spending excessive time standing in lines if it can be reasonably avoided. Thanks for any insight.

 

[brett]

Cities are very different by night. Especially London, Paris, and Rome.

We sometimes take the hop on hop off when we are in London. We always make it a point to make sure that we get back on at the end of the day. Sun is setting, traffic has eased, and the sights look different.

We prefer to walk around Paris at night. Walk from Montparnasse, where we have stayed the last few times, to the Eiffel Tower or over to Notre D.

 

[audreyh1]

Hmmm - on the Eiffel Tower I certainly enjoyed seeing it up close but felt no great desire to actually go up in it. Paris sights are generally very crowded.

I’ve had good luck visiting museums in the evening.

When we visited Stonehenge over 25 years ago we walked all through it including the inner circle. I guess things have changed. Early evening tour should have great light if there is some sun.

 

[Bamaman]

We like to ride the Metro to the Embarcadero station across the river from the Eiffel Tower right at sunset. The strobe lights on the tower will start up every few minutes. It is about the most sight you will ever see.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

We kind of try to repeat certain sites in different cities to take in the difference between day and night.
IMO, you'll encounter smaller crowds in the evening for cities and sites that are popular for daytrippers but I think the strategy will have less luck within London, Paris, and Amsterdam (with exception like potentially museums, galleries, etc open for the evening as audreyh1 mentions).

There are also a few tricks to avoid some queues like certain passes or certain entrances.

Rick Steves has a nice "Floodlit Paris Tour" itinerary that you can either follow using a taxi/uber or at minimum use to identify buildings and monuments that at are nicely lit at night.

Viewing the Eiffel Tower from Trocadéro is nice (though somewhat chaotic and festive because of the crowds) because you need some distance to appreciate it IMO but can then easily walk over to it.

 

[Souschef]

We made prior reservations to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower at 9:30. Because it is so far North latitude, it did not start getting dark until around 10 PM. I have attached some pictures so you can see the difference. It was magic!

 

[RetireAge50]

We recently did a nighttime bike tour in Paris. It was really fun. Included river tour with wine at the end of the ride.

Fat Tire Bike Tours

 

[DrRoy]

We have booked a tour out of London that takes us to Bath and then on to Stonehenge for an early evening tour that not only avoids the crowds but also permits entry into the inner circle that's apparently not available during the day. It sounds intriguing to us as well as it should afford some interesting photos in the waning light at dusk. Any thoughts on the pros and cons? Also it's got me to wondering if an evening tour would also be good for the Eiffel Tower. Others have suggested to do the Montparnasse Tower at night and the Eiffel Tower during the day.

That reminds me, are these "avoid the lines" tours worth the extra cost?

I would love to see Stonehenge among the stones again. Did it in 1986 but then later it was not allowed. Avoiding the lines anywhere is worth it to me. I would recommend the Eiffel Tower during the day, and see it from the ground at night and also from the top of l'Arc de Triomphe at night.

.

 

[dirt_dobber]

I rarely leave the great state of Texas - last time I did was 9 years ago - someone suggested I see the Washing D.C. memorials both during the day and again at night.
Wow what a contrasting and moving experience that was.

 

[gerntz]

We have booked a tour out of London that takes us to Bath and then on to Stonehenge for an early evening tour that not only avoids the crowds but also permits entry into the inner circle that's apparently not available during the day. It sounds intriguing to us as well as it should afford some interesting photos in the waning light at dusk. Any thoughts on the pros and cons?.

Sounds good to me. Was at Sth 18-20 years ago & couldn't go inside the ropes (Locals told me there were no ropes until about 1970-75.). Photos from east into sunset ought to be good. Bath intriguing too. FIL's medical unit slept around the bath during WW2 prior to the invasion.

 

[OldShooter]

From a photographer's point of view, early morning and evening light is highly desirable. The catch is that the light is changing all the time, so two photos taken 10 minutes apart will probably be quite different. The goal is often to get a nice blend of waning daylight and an illuminated landmark, like @DrRoy's excellent picture of the Eiffel tower with the flowers in the foreground. The period where this shot was available was probably five minutes.

A good tripod is immensely helpful for this kind of photography. Good tripods probably start at around $200. Most of what you see at lower price points is useless junk.

I have a panoramic photo of the Alhambra Palace in Granada Spain that I am quite proud of. We got to the viewpoint about an hour and a half before sunset as it tends to get crowded, then I set up the tripod and waited. In that case it was well after sunset before the castle lights came on and I could get the shot. Total time investment was over two hours. This kind of shooting is pretty incompatible with group travel, so we routinely travel with a private guide and driver. Then the schedule belongs to us, not to some bus driver.

 

[Chuckanut]

In May Rome at night is fabulous. Go light on dinner and just walk around. Notice the families, couples, groups of single guys and gals, musicians, kids playing soccer, i pensionati (that's people like us) and others walking around enjoying the ambiance of Rome.

Stop at a café for glass of wine, some antipasto and a digestivo - perhaps Cynar or Ramazotti. Later make another stop for a gelato and, if you are so inclined, an espresso.

 

[akidagain2018]

I had been to Paris a few times, and then went with my sis and we did a night tour. I wasn't expecting too much but it was really lovely. You really should do it. But you can see the cities in the daytime too by tour, high vistas like the Eifel Tower, or just walking to get to where you're going. Also, if you do an out of the city tour from London, you might be returning after dark so you'll have some night time views if you do this type of tour to Stonehenge, for example. It's all good, but night in Paris and London is quite lovely.

 

[NoiseBoy]

In my experience most major sites close between 5:00 - 6:00 and, if they are open late, it is usually only on one night a week. If that is what you mean by seeing a city at night, then you need to plan carefully. I went up in the Eiffel tower during the day and saw it from a Seine river cruise at night. I highly recommend the evening tour on the Seine. Paris by night is beautiful. If you want to use the elevator to go up in the Eiffel tower, buy your tickets in advance because they sell out. Other than seeing two musicals, I don't recall spending a lot of time in central London at night and I have not visited Amsterdam. Yet!