Days are getting longer, bars and restaurants are rolling out their summer terraces, and houseboats are hosting parties that go on all night... When the good weather returns, Paris buzzes with activities by day as much as by night. And this isn’t new: many photographers have captured the city’s nightlife. The Roger-Viollet Gallery invites us to rediscover these moments of urban life in a free exhibition running from June 11 to October 3, 2026.
The exhibition Paris, ouvert la nuit brings together 70 photographs from 1900 to 1970. The sequence offers a tour of the city from fresh angles and of the events that can animate it. A women-only cabaret in Montmartre, a July 14th ball, neon signs cutting through the nighttime gloom, vendors at the Halles... at night, Paris becomes a city of celebration, a gathering place, a living space.
The capital reveals itself through these photographs : the Seine, the landmarks, the streets, the people... Over the years, these scenes have changed, to varying degrees.
For artists, nocturnal Paris is a subject in its own right, but also a proving ground. Across the 20th century, technology kept evolving. The interplay of shadow and light, adapting to electric lighting, and changing exposure times produced images and moods that varied markedly from one era to the next.
The Roger-Viollet Gallery aims to spotlight this mysterious Paris, full of promise and poetry, a Paris under the stars that captivated so many photographers of the 20th century. Let yourself be tempted by this small artistic journey.
Dates and Opening Time
From June 11, 2026 to October 3, 2026
Location
Roger-Viollet Gallery
6 Rue de Seine
75006 Paris 6
Prices
Free
Official website
www.galerie-roger-viollet.fr
