If you have been to Paris you might remember its mythical nights full of love and unknown. Photographer Alain Cornu focus on the second topic - unknown for the common eye, and that is Paris roofs.
"I couldn’t sleep that night. My body was resting but images were dancing in my head: artificial lights, anarchic buildings, unattainable people… It was an incomprehensible world depriving me of sleep. After a while, I decided to get up, get dressed and leave the house. It would have been the perfect opportunity for a nighttime walk, but I didn’t go outside. Having lived for many years on the ground floor of a Parisian building, it had never occurred to me to go upstairs. I turned on the light and started climbing the stairs..."
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops14](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c3554f013db32a919d/1459102659334/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops14.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops13](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c3554f013db32a919f/1459102659439/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops13.jpg?format=original)
The first landing was a surprise. Although I was familiar with the decorations—the Persian patterns, the corniche, the color of the doors and the texture of the walls, this place seemed foreign to me. With a mixture of fear and excitement, I climbed up the next flight of stairs. There’s no law that says you can’t wander around your own building at night, but I still felt like I was doing something wrong. I kept climbing and my intuition told me that I was doing something whose logic would only become clear later on.
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops12](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c3554f013db32a91a1/1459102659553/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops12.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops11](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c3554f013db32a91a3/1459102659668/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops11.jpg?format=original)
The only light came from the skylight, ran along the wall , spilled onto the floor and up the service ladder hanging there. It was used by roofing workers, chimney sweep and antenna salesmen to get on the roof.
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops10](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c3554f013db32a91a5/1459102659776/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops10.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops9](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c3554f013db32a91a7/1459102659882/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops9.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops8](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c3554f013db32a91a9/1459102659993/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops8.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops7](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c4554f013db32a91ab/1459102660113/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops7.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops6](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c4554f013db32a91ad/1459102660244/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops6.jpg?format=original)
The lock had been left undone. I saw a sign inviting me to go up further .I dragged the ladder to reach the openning and went out taking the ladder wit me and closing the window,
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops5](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c4554f013db32a91af/1459102660407/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops5.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops4](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c4554f013db32a91b1/1459102660519/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops4.jpg?format=original)
![série "Sur Paris" - rue des Pyrénées 75020 Paris - France](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c4554f013db32a91b3/1459102660638/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops3.jpg?format=original)
![alain-cornu-paris-rooftops2](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c4554f013db32a91b5/1459102660763/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops2.jpg?format=original)
I stood up slowly and felt a great calm.
![série "Sur Paris" - rue Princesse 75006 Paris - France](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e33409d210b8a4c7e973c9/56f82311554f013db32a7c61/56f823c4554f013db32a91b7/1459102660873/alain-cornu-paris-rooftops1.jpg?format=original)
P.s.
You might also like "Parisian Rooftops by Michael Wolf" or "Paris Views by Gail Albert Halaban"