Must-Visit Spots for Photography Enthusiasts in Europe (Germany, Switzerland, France)

david3558

david3558

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I'm traveling to Frankfurt, Wetzlar, Stuttgart, Zurich, Geneva, and Paris this week. While it's not exclusively a photography trip (gotta keep the wife happy!), I'm curious about spots or shops worth visiting in these cities for a photo enthusiast. I just got my Leica MP back from DAG after a much needed service and most likely will take my Q3 with me too.

Here are my destinations and areas of interest:

**Frankfurt:**
- Iconic locations for cityscape and architecture photography
- Camera shops or galleries

**Wetzlar:**
- Besides Leitz-Park, any hidden gems or scenic spots

**Stuttgart:**
- Unique viewpoints or parks for capturing the city
- Any specialized camera stores

**Zurich:**
- Photogenic streets or neighborhoods
- Places to purchase photography gear

**Geneva:**
- Scenic spots by the lake or in the city
- Photography exhibitions or stores

**Paris:**
- Classic photography locations
- Renowned camera shops and galleries

Looking forward to your suggestions!

Thanks in advance!
 
Geneva

- a long walk by the lake -parc de la Perle du Lac & parc Mon Repos
- Manor department store -walking distance from the main railway station
- Leica store Geneva -between the Mandarin Oriental and the Four Seasons Hotel
- Geneva old town
- a tour of the Palais des Nations and parc de l'Ariana
- steak/frites at the Cafe de Paris -Rue du Mont Blanc -opposite the railway station

** Some hotels will provide you with free day passes for public transport.
 
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Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. It is part of the popular Romantic Road through southern Germany. Today it is one of only three towns in Germany that still have completely intact city walls, the other two being Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl, both also in Bavaria.

It was a hop skip and a jump by train from where I was stationed in the US Army in the early 80's and I loved to spend weekends there armed with a Canon AE-1 & a 50/1.8. I'd also have a lunch of bread, cheese, salami & local wine in the park they made out of the old city moat.

Well worth the trip.
 
Frankfurt train station is pretty immense, then there’s the obvious Reeperbahn - St Pauli has interesting buildings and graffiti

There’s a few street photography vids on YouTube that feature some areas worth a watch…great city
 
wlewisiii said:
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. It is part of the popular Romantic Road through southern Germany. Today it is one of only three towns in Germany that still have completely intact city walls, the other two being Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl, both also in Bavaria.

It was a hop skip and a jump by train from where I was stationed in the US Army in the early 80's and I loved to spend weekends there armed with a Canon AE-1 & a 50/1.8. I'd also have a lunch of bread, cheese, salami & local wine in the park they made out of the old city moat.

Well worth the trip.
Click to expand...
Heaven!
 
Anywhere along the Seine in Paris... the courtyard of the Louvre.
Leica store (& other used camera places) rue de Beaumarchais.
The Fondation Cartier Bresson 79 rue des Archives
The Picasso Museum....
IMG_6214.jpg

& if you're a music aficionado... catch some gypsy jazz at Chope des Puces... home of Django Reinhardt. (thursday-monday). Chope des Puces, Saint-Ouen, Club - Concerts, address & info | Paris Jazz Club
 
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Galerie Rouge -- formerly known as Galerie Agathe Gaillard
lagalerierouge.paris

LA GALERIE ROUGE - Paris. Galerie de photographies

La Galerie Rouge expose de la photographie classique et contemporaine. Elle se trouve au 3 Rue du Pont Louis Philippe à Paris.
lagalerierouge.paris lagalerierouge.paris
Wed-Sat 11-19. Back when Agathe Gaillard was still in charge she would open --or not-- following her fancy.
Within walking distance of Fondation Catier-Bresson.
 
Deardorff38 said:
Anywhere along the Seine in Paris... the courtyard of the Louvre.
Leica store (& other used camera places) rue de Beaumarchais.
The Fondation Cartier Bresson 79 rue des Archives
The Picasso Museum....
View attachment 4839880

& if you're a music aficionado... catch some gypsy jazz at Chope des Puces... home of Django Reinhardt. (thursday-monday). Chope des Puces, Saint-Ouen, Club - Concerts, address & info | Paris Jazz Club
Click to expand...
Wow, great call out on Chope des Puces! Django is quite literally one of my favorite musicians, and is quite the “guitar hero” of mine.
 
This from a long lifetime of travel.

Anywhere in Lisbon.

Anywhere in Oporto.

Anywhere in Barcelona. (Madrid I can take or leave, after one visit I opted to leave. Your choice.)

Anywhere smaller than Nice Antibes etc along the Med coast of France. Excepting maybe Marseille, where I lived for a year in 1966, but I was last there in the early '90s and I expect things have changed a bit. I saw an aerial photo of that city recently and didn't recognize anything. So!

For that matter anywhere out of Paris. Ideally for me was the south of France or the north. The east was overcrowded, especially on weekends when everybody in Paris desperately tries to get out of that god-awful city and into the countryside for fresh air, good food and enjoyable wines.

Almost anywhere in Italy. Heaven on earth, Italy is, if approached carefully after doing a little research. I used Rome as a leaping-point and went from there but you can do the same from any other major city (Naples, Turin, Milan etc). The further south I went, the nicer people were, the cheaper just about everything was, and the beautifuler (sorry!) the scenery. Calabria, now there's a place...!

The secret (as I discovered in the mid-'70s) is to figure out where the mobs of tourists travel to, and don't go anywhere near those places. A lot has changed in that half century, but I like to think some things have remained. Like the people. In terms of being good and nice.

Try to not fly, if you can get away with it. Slow travel is the way, for me the only way, to see and truly enjoy a country. Trains will take you anywhere and everywhere in Europe. In my time there I made much use of off-peak fares. Maybe those are still available. Ask and you will be told.

In my time in Europe (too long ago, unlikely now to return as too old and too many other places in Asia to visit/revisit) I found I could do well usually, culturally and photographically by going to the main train station in the city where I was, and taking a train to any smaller place that was out-of-the-way but along a river or had wineries.

In the so-called GODs we didn't have Google. Now we do. A gift from the gods, Google is, if used well.

It's good to think as the mass tourists do, figure out where they go, and travel in the opposite direction. I've always tried to do this, and have seen some truly marvelous places as a result.

(End of sermon. Go forth and book your tickets!)
 
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