Paris, France
After more than ten visits, I think I’ve finally worked out that I love Paris.
The first few times I came, I didn’t feel that way at all. I was younger, travelling on a very tight budget, staying in not-great areas and had a couple of experiences that left a bad impression. I remember being deliberately sent the wrong way down a dark street late at night by a local and another time having to leave a hostel in the middle of the night after things got very unsafe with another guest. This isn’t specifically a Paris problem. London would feel exactly the same under those circumstances.
Coming back later with a bit more money and different tastes completely changed things. Not in an extravagant way, just enough for a decent three-star hotel, to eat properly and to not be constantly worrying about every euro. It made all the difference. It’s not glamorous to admit, but it’s true. Paris, like a lot of big cities, is much easier to love when you’re comfortable in it.
One recent trip was for my partner’s birthday, and it felt like the version of Paris I’d always imagined. We visited Palace of Versailles on a perfect summer day, hiring a small boat on the lake and drifting around in the sun. It’s as grand as you’d expect, but also surprisingly peaceful once you get away from the main crowds.
We stopped at Angelina and ordered far too much pâtisserie, then somehow still managed dinner later at Brasserie Lipp with friends who live in the city. The evening ended with a slow walk as the sun set over the Seine, which is one of those simple things that Paris does very well.
Another trip that summer was with friends, and it had a completely different energy. Less sightseeing, more wandering, shopping drunkenly in City Pharma and long meals. Most of the photos are unusable for the purposes of this blog - just us laughing, mid-conversation, usually with a glass of wine in hand. We had huge seafood platters, took a boat along the Seine and spent hours just talking. A beautiful trip, with beautiful people in a beautiful city.
One standout meal was at Chez Denise with proper, old-school French food. Steak, pâté, red wine, dessert. Rich, generous and absolutely fantastic.
What I’ve realised is that Paris isn’t always an easy city at first. It doesn’t necessarily go out of its way to welcome you. But once you find your rhythm with it, once you’re not rushing, not struggling, not constantly on edge then it opens up. For me, it took time. And a slightly bigger budget. And age. But now, I get it.
