Ok - this might be dumb question but I was honestly wondering where people take those amazing shots of the Eiffel Tower we all see on post cards. Is there a specific street you should go to?

I would think most are taken from the Champs de Mars. Keith

I like taking pics from the Trocadero

keith - how do you get to Champs de Mars from the eiffel tower - do you have to cross the river?

LoriNY is right -- it's from the Trocadero. Champs de Mars is a bit too close, and the elevation of Trocadero makes it much easier to get a good shot of the entire tower without giving people attacks of vertigo.

Pass GO and head straight for the Palais de Chaillot ( Metro Trocadero)!!
Get there about sunset and mingle with the hundreds of other people taking photos, laughing and talking, listening to the drums down below beating out a steady hypnotic rythymn by a North African group( I think). Perch yourself/selves? on the wall and ask some kind person to take your picture with the Eiffel in the background.
Hang around awhile until it gets dark and see the Eiffel Tower go balistic as it bursts into a million flashing strobe lights! It's absolutely my most favourite place to view it.
By the way......did you know the Eiffel Tower's weight distribution is that of a person sitting on a chair? And that the air capacity surrounding it's frame is heavier than the actual tower?

Incidentally, on the rare clear morning you can get a terrific shot of the sun rising from behind the tower from Trocadero. Sunrise is relatively late in Paris, especially from September until February or March (the city is on the very western edge of the time zone, and it's also very far north), which makes it a bit easier.

The champs de mars is the long green park that extends from the base of the Eiffel Tower to the Military Academy. It is on the same side of the river as the tower. Keith

From Notre Dame.

Here's my picture:
http://fodorite.fisherfowler.net/liz/gargoyle.jpg

...although...there is a poster on slotravel who had an old picture of her father on roof with the Tower in the background. It was pretty spectacular and lo and behold it is from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Sunset from one of the Bridges is stunning...

Elberko: NICE SHOT!

Hi - you can get great photos as everyone here has described, but my favorite was taken in December from a sidestreet in the 16th. The street was in shadow, the trees bare and in silhouette, as lacy and interesting as the Tower. Not the traditional shot, but really nice. Look for the unusual to get a picture of "your" Eiffel Tower.

I took a shot I really like from a little park right by Les Invalides. I think it was at Rue Grenelle and Blvd. des Invalides.
You can see it at:
http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&...id=21324454206

Here's one of mine, from a totally different perspective: http://p.vtourist.com/1376659.jpg

Here are some more of mine: http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/49c35/#TL

It partly depends on how wide angle your lens is. The other posters are right that probably the best place is Trocadero but you can get nice shots from the end of Champs de Mars also. I also like to walk along the Seine, on the Trocadero side, a ways and there are some good vantage points from there. I also like some of the more distant shots, particularly from Pont Alexander and also from Place de la Concord.

Myriam, I love the your first one looking up through the braches!

I love the views from Pont Alexander III. So romatic.

Hi HH,

If you take a ride on the Batobus (www.batobus.com) you get a good shot as the boat approaches the Tower.

You can also get a good shot of the Tour Montparnasse through the arches of the Tour Eiffel.

There's lots of great spots, even the obvious ones. Early in the morning or late in the day will give you better light.

Here's a couple from the standard spots...right under it, and from the Trocadero:

http://www.jimtardio.com/france/pari...aris-2004.html

Unless you know how to take good backlit pictures, you should picture it from the East in the morning, and from the West (i.e. Trocadero) in the afternoon.