When You’d Rather Be in Paris

In my heart, I’m lounging in a front row seat at Café de Flore, sipping un café crème, watching graceful Parisians glide down Boulevard Saint-Germain, as I skim the pages of an Ernest Hemingway novel I picked up at Shakespeare & Co.

In reality, I’m laying in bed, wool socks pulled up to my knees, listening to my neighbors argue about who should be responsible for making their dogs stop barking, as I write a blog post about how I’d rather be in Paris.

C’est la vie.

Paris Je T’Aime

I made my first visit to Paris when I was 14. My grandmother and I were staying in a bed and breakfast outside the city, and rode the train straight to the Trocadéro metro stop, with one specific destination in mind. At our stop, we exited the train, and climbed the hard, wet concrete stairs up and out into a fresh summer morning. The sun was soft and sleepy, the day still dewey and cool. Souvenir shops were groggily yawning themselves awake, and the smell of fresh baguette hung lazily in the air.

I was a 14 year old late-blooming American girl who had never been outside of California, and I felt more at home in those first moments in Paris than I ever had anywhere else.

I was born to be here, I thought to myself.

I didn’t have to ask anyone where to go. I knew. A quick left around the corner, et voilà! There she was, the star of Paris, la Tour Eiffel. I stopped in my tracks. I inhaled sharply. I went tingly all over. I thought, I don’t ever want to leave this spot.

Spoiler alert: I did eventually have to leave.

Although Paris may be far in miles, there are ways to keep the City of Light’s je ne sais quoi close to heart.

Below, I share 9 books to inspire your next trip to Paris.

I also have a playlist loaded with my favorite french songs you can stream for FREE.

If you’re looking for fashion inspo, there’s no better source than the streets of Paris. I’ve got an entire mood board dedicated to Paris street style.

Until your next flight lands at CDG Airport, happy daydreaming.

*NOTE: I am a proud affiliate of these books, and I do receive a small commission from each sale.

1. A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway

I have yet to find a more perfect articulation of Paris’s magnetic magic than in Hemingway’s memoir of the expat years. “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man,” he writes, “then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you.” Hemingway takes you down the cobblestone streets of Montparnasse—where you can still find his old apartment!—and into some of the most beloved cafés in the world, with some of the most celebrated artists of all time. A Moveable Feast captures the essence of the American-in-Paris dream as only Hemingway can capture, well, anything.

2. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, by Gertrude Stein

Speaking of the expats, Gertrude Stein held court with them all, hosting and mentoring a miraculous array of artists, writers, and poets in the salon of the Left Bank apartment she shared with Alice B. Toklas. The 2011 film, Midnight in Paris, brings Stein and Toklas’s salon to life in a warm and vibrant way, and serves as a sweet companion to this classic and often cheeky picture of Paris’s early 1900’s art scene.

3. My Life in France, by Julia Child

What would Paris be without Quiche Lorraine, Boeuf Bourguignon, or Soupe à l’oignon? Julia Child certainly wasn’t going to risk finding out. It is a true joy to follow along as she discovers Paris—and herself—through the joy of cooking. My Life in France will leave your mouth watering and your tummy rumbling for one… more… bite.

4. The Sweet Life in Paris, by David Lebovitz

David Lebovitz writes about his life as an American in Paris in such a candid and affectionate way that it becomes impossible not to fall in love with the city…and the croissants. Lebovitz is a gifted baker and chef, and the recipes he shares in The Sweet Life in Paris are both realistic and authentic. I also love his follow-up memoir, L’Appart.

5. French Milk, by Lucy Knisley

French Milk is not your typical travel diary. It’s more comic journal than anything, and tells the warm and relatable story of Lucy’s month-long stay in Paris with her mother. Less romance, more hot chocolate at Angelina.

(Although the argument could easily be made that a hot chocolate from Angelina is romance.)

6. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery

The truth is, I’d recommend The Elegance of the Hedgehog on any book list, whatever the theme, but it belongs on this list because the story could not have been written within any other world than Paris. As elevated and inspired as it is deeply philosophical, this novel manages to capture the je ne sais quoi of Parisian culture, art, and life that Francophiles like myself are in constant pursuit of.

7. The Woman Destroyed, by Simone de Beauvoir

There are no happy endings in this trilogy of novellas, but the joy you might feel while haunting Simone de Beauvoir’s favorite cafés in Paris after reading this masterpiece of French feminist literature is worth it. After your espresso at Café de Flore, you can stroll down to Cimetière du Montparnasse, and leave a flower on her grave, where she rests with Jean-Paul Sartre.

8. Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies, by Ross King

“I’m at war with nature and time,” Monet wrote, “and I’d like to finish some paintings I’ve started.” Part art history, part biography, Mad Enchantment is entirely inspiring. It provides meaningful insight into some of the most beloved paintings of all time, and Monet’s dream of creating “a refuge for peaceful meditation.” Understanding the challenges, self-doubts, and near-defeats Monet experienced along the way will make your visit to the legendary Water Lilies at Musée de l’Orangerie even more profound.

9. Marie Antoinette: The Journey, by Antonia Fraser

Marie Antoinette did not say “Let them eat cake”! Fraser debunks this and many other myths about one of the most fascinating and controversial queens in world history in Marie Antoinette. Honestly, don’t bother visiting Versailles until you’ve read this book. The rooms are only cold and ostentatious until you can imagine her living her passionate and troubled life within them.

Your turn!

Do you have any reading recommendations to inspire your fellow wanderlusters? Leave your suggestions in the comments below, so we can update our reading lists!