Last Updated on 12th October 2023 by Sophie Nadeau
One of the coolest things to do during a trip to Paris when it comes to collecting souvenirs is to take vintage style photos in a fotoautomat. There are a number of historic photo booths in Paris located around the city centre, many in enviable and photogenic locations. Here’s where to find the best Fotoautomats in Paris.
Please note that the photo booths here are strictly for the sole purpose of fun photo strips. They are not in the right format to be used for professional use or for use for officials IDs.
If you need to take administrative photos in a photo booth such as for a driving license or visa, then modern day photo booths can be found in all metro stations and also in many larger supermarkets.
Fotoautomats are old photo booths which date back many decades. The company Fotoautomat was founded in 2007 and restores old photo booths which produce black and white four-strip photos.
The silver production based photos are guaranteed to remain stable for at least 100 years. Each photo booth is unique in appearance and some date back to as far as 60 years ago.
Today, there are less than 50 such working photo booths in the world. Fotoautomat manages a number of booths in Paris, as well as in the city of Nantes, and the Czechia capital city of Prague.
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Best photo booth locations in Paris
Samaritaine
9 Rue de la Monnaie, 75001 Paris
One of the newer Fotoautomat locations in Paris is located within Samaritaine, which is a newly renovated department store in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, overlooking the River Seine. The Fotoautomat is located on the first floor of the flagshup store.
Recently re-opened to the public for the first time in several decades (at the beginning of the 2000s the department store was considered the height of luxury in Paris), La Samaritaine features plenty of Art Nouveau architecture, as well as several restaurants and plenty of concept shopping opportunities.
Le Palais de Tokyo
13 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75016 Paris
Located in the 16th arrondissement of the city, there is a vintage photo booth in Le Palais de Tokyo, close to the metro station of Iena. This was one of the first photo booths installed in Paris back in 2007.
Please note that, in order to access the photo booth, you’ll need to pay to access the museum. Much like the other old photo booths in the City of Light, the Palais de Tokyo booth takes a strip of four black and white photos and costs €3.
Le Centquatre
5 rue Curial, 75019 Paris
Le Centquatre is a cultural centre which hosts exhibitions and the like in the somewhat out-of-the-way 19th arrondissement of the city. The Fotoautomat itself is located within Café Caché, which serves up affordable drinks throughout the day and night.
Bonton
5 bld des Filles du Calvaire, 75014
With an enviable location in the upper Marais district of the Rive Droite, the Fotoautomat at Bonton is the perfect place to stop off at for a quick souvenir snap during an exploration of the wider area.
Bonton itself is a fun kids’ concept store which sells everything from children’s clothing to unique toys. Please note that while there are three Bonton stores in Paris, only the location at Filles du Calvaire has a vintage photo booth.
Montmartre
53 Rue des Trois Frères, 75018 Paris
Hands down one of my personal favourites when it comes to photo booths in Paris is in Montmartre (i.e. the 18th arrondissement), just steps away from the fruit bd vegetable shop that was made famous by the Amelie film.
The Fotoautomat has been open seven days a week since June 2016 and photos cost €4. You can pay by contactless bank card or alternatively with coins. Please note that you don’t get any change and so will need the exact money on you.
Buttes Chaumont
Av. Darcel, 75019 Paris
if you’re looking for a location a little off the beaten tourist track in Paris, then you need to look no further than the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, a charming public space in the 19e arrondissement of the city that boasts a lake, folly, and even a waterfall complete with grotto.
Truth be told, the photo booth in Buttes Chaumont can be a little tricky to find if you don’t know where to look. The photo booth in Parc des Buttes Chaumont is located outside of le Pavillon Puebla, which is a building used for various events and conferences.
The photo booth in Buttes Chaumont was originally used right up until 1986 in Montreal, Canada before it was eventually relocated to the City of Light. The Fotoautomat was reassembled in 2010 and a strip of four photos costs €4.
La Philharmonie de Paris
221 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris
Yet another vintage Parisian photo booth is located in the 19th-arrondissement at the Philharmonie. This booth was originally located in the Grand Palais but was moved to the Philharmonie in 2018.
Le Mazette
69 Port de la Rapée, 75012 Paris
One of the places where you would least expect to find a photo booth in the French capital is in the middle of a floating boat on the River Seine. Le Mazette is a laid-back boat bar close to Gare de Lyon that is set over two decks (with the upper deck being in the open air). The lower floor has a photo booth where you can snap photos as a souvenir for a small fee.
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Sophie Nadeau loves dogs, books, travel, pizza, and history. A Francophile at heart, she runs solosophie.com when she’s not chasing after the next sunset shot or consuming something sweet. She splits her time between Paris and London and travels as much as she can! Subscribe to Sophie’s YouTube Channel.