Sun & light planner

Golden hour in Paris

In mid-June golden hour in Paris starts at 21:07 and lasts 50 minutes; in mid-December it starts at 16:00 and lasts 55. The tool is set to Paris — pick your shoot date.

In Paris the evening golden hour starts at 21:07 in mid-June (50 min) and at 16:00 in mid-December (55 min). Pick a date for the exact day.
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A row of buildings or a hill: about 5° for a four-storey block 100 m away.
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Europe/Paris

  • golden (sun 6° to −0.8°)
  • dusk (−0.8° to −4°)
  • blue (−4° to −6°)
  • night
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Golden hour, evening
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Blue hour, evening
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Golden hour, morning
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Sunrise
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Sunset
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Shadow of a 1.80 m person
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© OpenStreetMap · dashed: sunrise · solid: sunset · yellow: sun now · dark: shadow
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Golden hour in Paris, month by month

The evening window in Paris is longest in December (55 minutes) and shortest in March (42 minutes). Values for the 15th of each month, local time, daylight saving included.

Paris, 2026: sun times on the 15th (Europe/Paris)
MonthSunriseSunsetGolden hour, eveningLengthBlue hour untilDaylight
January08:4017:2116:29–17:2152 min17:578 h 42 min
February08:0018:1117:26–18:1145 min18:4410 h 11 min
March07:0518:5518:14–18:5542 min19:2711 h 50 min
April07:0120:4219:59–20:4242 min21:1513 h 41 min
May06:1021:2620:39–21:2646 min22:0415 h 15 min
June05:4721:5621:07–21:5650 min22:3916 h 09 min
July06:0321:5121:02–21:5148 min22:3115 h 47 min
August06:4421:0820:24–21:0844 min21:4314 h 25 min
September07:2820:0619:25–20:0642 min20:3812 h 39 min
October08:1119:0318:20–19:0343 min19:3510 h 52 min
November08:0017:1216:23–17:1249 min17:479 h 12 min
December08:3816:5516:00–16:5555 min17:328 h 17 min

Where the sun goes down

Around the June solstice the sun sets in Paris at 307° (NW), around the December solstice at 233° (SW) — 74° apart. A façade that gets backlight at the end of a summer day is lit from the side in winter, and a street that frames the sunset in July may not see it at all in January.

The highest sun of the year stands at 65° at noon, the lowest at 18°. Below about 15° the light turns warm and the shadows long enough to shape a face; the day chart in the tool shows when the sun crosses that line on your date.

Clock changes

Europe/Paris changes the clocks on 29 March and 25 October 2026. On those dates every time in the table jumps by an hour overnight — a schedule copied from the week before the change puts the exterior an hour into the dark (or an hour too early).

Filming in Paris: permits

Shoots on public ground in Paris need a permit from the local authority (listed source: paris.fr (Mission Cinéma)). If a golden-hour setup sits on public space, apply for a weather cover day at the same time — the light will not wait for the paperwork.

As of 2026-08

Frequently asked

When does golden hour start in Paris today?

The tool above opens on today’s date for Paris. As a guide: in mid-June it starts at 21:07, in mid-December at 16:00.

How long is golden hour in Paris?

Between 42 minutes (March) and 55 minutes (December) in the evening, measured from 6° sun altitude to sunset.

Does a building to the west change this?

Yes. Set the obstruction slider to its angle: a four-storey building 100 m away is about 5° and ends direct sun noticeably before sunset. The tool shows how many minutes you lose.