The European Night of Museums (or la Nuit européenne des musées in French) began in 2005, created by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. It takes place every year on the Saturday nearest to International Museum Day. This year both occasions fall on the same day - today, May 18th! Tonight, museums will close much later, allowing people to experience the cultural institutions by night. Access is most often free to the public. This photo was taken at Paris' Musée d'Art Moderne during last years event. Two million visitors participated in la Nuit des musées in 2012.

This week France had two consecutive jours fériés (holidays). Wednesday was a commemoration of the 8th of May 1945, which marked the end of World War II in Europe. This armistice is known as Victory in Europe Day in English. On this day, the Allies accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany's armed forces. In this photograph, Winston Churchill waves to crowds in London after officially announcing the war's end to the country.

On Wednesday, le 1er mai (worker's day) was celebrated here in France as well as in many other countries which honor the day. The lovely ladies in this photo, taken in 1911, proudly wear their bouquets of muguet (lily of the valley), a tradition that is said to have begun when Charles IX offered the flower in May of 1561. Today, the sweetly scented white bouquets are a ubiquitous site on the first of the month, and a sure sign that spring is on its way.

After a photo shoot last week near the foot of la Tour Eiffel, I crossed from rive gauche to rive droite. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in Paris, and the Pont de l'Alma provided amazing views of the sparkling Seine. Back on rive droite (my preferred 'rive'), I walked east towards Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau to get on the metro line 13, which many say is the worst (le pire!) metro of Paris' underground system. As I often like to do, I passed along the side of le Grand Palais. That's where I snapped this photo of an unexpected sight...

The multiple layers of this photograph come together to make quite a beautiful image. The large shop window gives us a glimpse of both the inside of the store and what's reflected across the street.  Details like the red stop sign, the green and grey street barricade, the green plastic trash bag and the classic street pole are all unmistakable signs of Paris. The photographer mentions often having his camera on hand, which comes in handy when stumbling upon a picture-worthy moment such as this.

I'm a big fan of Vélib, Paris' vast bike share system, but I recently acquired a second hand vélo of my own. For me, nothing beats the rush of riding through the ancient streets of Paris on a beautiful day. Paris is a relatively bike friendly city, but you should be prepared. A secure place to store your bike off the streets at night and a good strong antivol (anti-theft lock) are essential. This photographer captured cyclists in transit one October morning.

After les vacances de Pâques (Easter break) last weekend, I found this photograph from 1936, which captures French confectioners in the process of making chocolate-filled Easter eggs. After the invention of the chocolate bar in 1847 by the Fry brothers, chocolate makers began using the technique to shape chocolate into various forms. The first chocolate Easter egg was made in the UK in 1873.

I came across this photograph while searching for images for Ashlee Girdner's upcoming article Jean Paul Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir: An Existential Love Affair. De Beauvoir and Sartre are buried side by side at the Cimetière du Montparnasse. As this photo shows, visiters to the couple's gravesite sometimes leave metro tickets held down by small stones. The reasoning? Some say it refers to Sartre's support of the French Maoists who, in response to a raise in metro fare, stole tickets and distributed them to French workers.

I love this image shot from below the Arc de Triomphe's spiral staircase, c'est comme un escargot! The warm glow of ambient light also contributes to the snail effect, and the blurred action of visitors climbing the stairs at different levels is a nice touch as well. There are apparently 284 steps to get from the ground level of the arch to it's terrasse, where visitors get a splendid view of Paris. Some say the best time to visit is in the evening, with the flame of the unknown soldier lit and twinkling lights of the Champs-Elysées below.