An ode to the city that has inspired so many great minds.
By Kate Phillips, Ian Palmer and and Kathleen Penton
From its sun-dappled quays along the Seine to its quaint cafés in tranquil neighborhoods, Paris has always been known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In addition to its picturesque charm, this ancient city, which has been inhabited since about 7600 BCE, is steeped in culture, cuisine, art, architecture, and history. In short, the French capital contains multitudes from Notre Dame Cathedral to the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower.
More than a mere spot on the map, it's a place that exists in the hearts and minds of all who have been touched in some way by its magical allure. To that end, here are 24 quotes about Paris from some of the poets, artists, writers, and thinkers who have captured the seductive essence of the City of Light with their words.
Vincent van Gogh
“There is but one Paris and however hard living may be here…the French air clears up the brain and does one good.”
Lauren Elkin, Flâneuse
“The streets of Paris had a way of making me stop in my tracks, my heart suspended. They seemed saturated with presence, even if there was no one there but me. These were places where something could happen, or had happened, or both.”
King Henry IV
“Paris is well worth a Mass.”
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Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust
“Walking Paris is often described as reading, as though the city itself were a huge anthology of tales. It exerts a magnetic attraction over its citizens and its visitors, for it has always been the capital of refugees and exiles as well as of France.”
Lee Radziwill
“When you see some sun, Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. It brings tears to your eyes.”
Elliot Paul
“The last time I see Paris will be on the day I die. The city was inexhaustible, and so is its memory.”
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T.S. Eliot
“The chief danger about Paris is that it is such a strong stimulant.”
Gertrude Stein
“America is my country and Paris is my hometown.”
Thomas Jefferson
“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life.”
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King Francis I
“Paris is not a city; it’s a world.”
Henry Miller
“To know Paris is to know a great deal.”
Ernest Hemingway
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
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Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance
“When good Americans die they go to Paris.”
Ernest Hemingway
“There are only two places in the world where we can live happy—at home and in Paris.”
Henry Miller
"When spring comes to Paris the humblest mortal alive must feel that he dwells in paradise."
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John Berger
"Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman."
Julian Barnes
“It took me some years to clear my head of what Paris wanted me to admire about it, and to notice what I preferred instead. Not power-ridden monuments, but individual buildings which tell a quieter story: the artist’s studio, or the Belle Epoque house built by a forgotten financier for a just-remembered courtesan.”
Natalie Lloyd
“I like The Eiffel Tower because it looks like steel and lace.”
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James Thurber
“The whole of Paris is a vast university of Art, Literature and Music. It is worth anyone’s while to dally here for years. Paris is a seminar, a post-graduate course in Everything.”
Napoléon Bonaparte
“Secrets travel fast in Paris.”
