Paris like you’ve never seen her before

Bonjour, Paris!, the newest video from New York filmmaker Tyler Fairbanks, is certainly nothing less than a love letter to the City of Light.

For both admirers of Paris and the uninitiated, the short film offers an immersive look into the corners of Paris. Immediately recognizable landmarks take on brand-new qualities – at 1:25, a cut from Notre Dame’s stained glass windows, for example, segues into the Eiffel Tower’s elegant iron structure, the iconic tower illuminated against a dusk-lit Parisian sky. At 00:26, Fairbanks skilfully bottles what it feels like to be walking the city’s wide, tree-lined avenues.

Shot in hyperlapse format, the film is accompanied by ambient sounds, making it seem like you’re standing in the French capital as the camera rushes by at dizzying speeds. The hushed chatter inside the Louvre melts into the sound of purposeful heels clicking by the Arc de Triomphe. The video doesn’t just focus on the landmarks above ground, however – it dives below ground as well, quieting to a respectful silence in the chilly Parisian catacombs before surfacing again at the Eiffel Tower.

Shot through the eyes of a first-time visitor, Bonjour, Paris is a two-minute reminder of Paris’s dazzling grandeur. It’s Paris like you’ve never seen her before.