Taking Photos in Paris: What's Allowed and What's Not (2026)

The essentials at a glance

Rules checked in October 2026 on each venue's official website.

Photographing people: image rights

In France, image rights (droit à l'image) let everyone allow or refuse the reproduction and distribution of their image. The camera isn't the issue; publishing is.

What you can do

• Photograph a busy street, a crowd or a square such as the Trocadéro: according to Service Public (the French government's official information site), the image of a group or a street scene in a public place can be shared without consent if no one in it is singled out.
• Photograph a news event or a public demonstration, within the limits of the right to information.
• Keep for your album photos taken in a public place that show passers-by: image rights cover how the image is used (distribution, publication, reproduction, sale).

What requires consent

• Publishing a photo of a single, recognizable person, even one taken in the street, on a website, a blog or social media. Service Public specifies that consent must be written and precise: medium, purpose, duration. A simple "yes" to being photographed isn't enough.
• Sharing a child's image: written permission from the parents is mandatory, without exception.
• Photographing someone in a private place without their consent.

According to Service Public, publishing a photo or video without the person's consent is punishable by one year in prison and a €15,000 fine. In practice, the simplest habit is to ask before photographing a street performer, a shopkeeper or a stranger in close-up, and to blur faces before posting.

The Eiffel Tower at night: private photos yes, commercial use no

This is the most commonly misunderstood rule. According to the Société d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), the company that runs the monument:

• By day, the image of the Eiffel Tower is in the public domain: you can use it freely, without permission.
• At night, the lighting is protected: the golden illumination, the sparkling lights, the beacon and event lighting.
• Private use requires no permission. Your photo of the sparkling tower, taken from the Champ-de-Mars or the riverbanks, can stay in your album and be shared with friends and family.
• Any professional use of images showing the illuminated tower requires prior permission from SETE and may involve paying fees, depending on the project and how it is distributed.

So photographing the Eiffel Tower at night isn't banned. What is regulated is commercial use of the image (advertising, products for sale, professional projects). If in doubt, SETE invites you to contact its image department. For the best angles, see our selection of the best free views of Paris.

Museums: photos allowed, but no flash or tripod

The Louvre

The visitor rules of the Louvre, in the version dated 15 December 2025, state that:

• works in the permanent collections may be photographed or filmed for the visitor's private use;
• flash and any other lighting device are banned;
• restrictions may apply in temporary exhibitions;
• photographing technical installations and equipment is banned;
• selfie sticks, tripods and camera stands are not allowed in the collections;
• professional photography and filming require the museum's prior written permission.

The Musée d'Orsay

At the Musée d'Orsay, photos and videos are allowed during opening hours for strictly private use, provided you turn off the flash and don't block the flow of people or disturb other visitors. Flashes, lamps, tripods and stands are banned; tripods and lighting equipment must be left at the cloakroom. Some works, particularly in temporary exhibitions, may be off-limits for photos: the ban is then shown on the label. Any group or commercial use requires prior permission.

Other museums

Each institution sets its own rules. Before your visit, check the "visitor rules" or "visiting conditions" section of its website and the pictograms at the entrance to each room. To choose your visits, see our guide to free museums in Paris.

Churches and places of worship

Churches are first and foremost places of prayer: the rules are stricter than in a museum, and they vary from one building to the next.

• Notre-Dame de Paris: according to the cathedral's official website, photos without flash are allowed, except in a few marked areas, and camera poles are banned.
• Sacré-Cœur: the basilica bans all photos in the nave, out of respect for prayer and for the religious community that lives there. Photos are possible in the side aisles and the ambulatory. Professional photos and filming require prior written permission.

During a service, avoid photographing worshippers and the celebrant, and switch your camera to silent.

In the metro

The RATP (the Paris public transport operator) website doesn't set out a rule for passengers' personal photos. It does, however, state that professional filming and photography on the network require RATP approval and are reserved for companies: requests from individuals and students are not accepted. Other passengers' image rights apply just as they do in the street. For getting around, see our guide to the metro and RER.

Tripods, photo shoots and professional filming

For a photo shoot or an organized film shoot in the street (fashion, advertising, music video, art photography), the City of Paris handles requests through its Paris Film office:

• a prior declaration is enough for a crew of fewer than 10 people, with light equipment, in streets and on bridges only, with no vehicle parking; it must be filed 5 working days in advance;
• in all other cases (parks and gardens, riverbanks, canals, cemeteries, monuments, churches, a larger crew, parking), you need an authorization, requested 15 working days in advance through the AGATE application, usually with fees to pay;
• insurance covering the activity is required for any type of shoot.

Paris Film does not handle requests for several landmark sites, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden, the Musée d'Orsay, the Trocadéro esplanade, the Luxembourg Gardens and the banks of the Seine: you need to contact each site's management directly.

Police officers and sensitive sites

According to the Défenseur des droits (France's rights ombudsman), you have the right to film a police check; it does, however, state that the video cannot be shared if the officers' faces are recognizable. In front of a site where a sign or an officer indicates that photography is banned, follow the instruction.

What about drones?

Flying a drone over central Paris is banned in practice, whatever the weight of the aircraft. All the rules are covered in our article Can You Fly a Drone in Paris?.

Further reading

To find the best shots, check out our guide to Instagrammable Paris. Other everyday rules are covered in our articles on drinking alcohol in the street and where you can smoke.