Why visit Paris?
Hello, dear tourist. This may sound a bit too obvious, but the first discovery I’ll talk about is the city of Paris. Oh yes — Paris itself. Or should I say, herself? Here in France, we believe she’s a lady.
It doesn’t matter if it’s your first time in the City of Light or if you come every year — you will always discover something new in Paris. So, my first journal entry will be about Paris as one of my discoveries. The very first time I visited Paris, I was a little girl with my grandparents, on my first trip to Europe. I had no idea that one day I would call this place home.
Usually, before we start a tour, you ask me, “What brought you to Paris?” The short answer is a master’s degree in Comparative Literature at the Sorbonne University — but it’s more than that. I really wanted to immerse myself in this culture. I had the opportunity to take a gap year between high school and university to come to France and learn French. If you ever want to do it, trust me — you can learn the language in a year. I spent that year in the city of Perpignan, and I traveled around Europe. As a young adult, it was Paris that truly blew my mind — one of the few cities I already knew. I promised myself that one day I would live here.
If you love culture, you absolutely have to come to Paris. I’m not talking only about museums and monuments (though we have plenty), but also about everyday culture. I fell in love with the way people eat here. Parisians love and respect both French cuisine and world flavors. I love going to restaurants and brasseries and trying to find a wine that perfectly matches my meal. I also fell in love with the parks — like Buttes-Chaumont or the Palais-Royal — where I go to relax after a long day at the Louvre. So, whether you like history, art, fashion, or books, this is the city for you. I’d like my tourists to feel a similar connection to Paris — the one I feel myself. I try to share that in my tours. I want you to feel it too, every time you come back to Paris.
Loving a city is like loving someone. You can experience love at first sight, but as the years go by, you love her for deeper reasons. That’s the relationship I have with Paris — and the one I hope you’ll develop with the City of Light.
Paris is beautiful, but it’s not a postcard. It’s not the set of a movie or a TV series. The real Paris isn’t the one from Amélie and even less the one from Emily in Paris. It’s the capital of France, the largest urban area in the country — and it’s alive. Maybe you’re here on vacation, but that doesn’t make the city a theme park where the inhabitants are staff members ready to help. That’s not their job.
That’s mine. I love helping tourists because I remember all the help I needed when I first arrived here and didn’t speak the language. Some people say Parisians are rude. We’re not rude — we’re just, well, Parisians. You have to understand that the concept of rudeness differs from one culture to another. So let me give you a tip: instead of starting a conversation by asking something directly in English, try this — first, say “Bonjour,” then ask if they speak your language. I’m sure you’ll have a much better experience.
So, welcome to Paris — to my tours, and to this blog. I hope you enjoy them all. And remember, as Audrey Hepburn used to say: Paris is always a good idea.