À la prochaine, Paris !

I considered, at some length, the possibility of writing another Paris travel guide to end this series of Parisian posts. But there are already five of them. And at this point, I have little new ground to tread in terms of making recommendations about what to see and do in the city of light. Paris is home, but not where we live. When we visit, we spend most of our time returning to the places we love best; places we remember fondly, even long for, while we’re away, because we wish we could spend much more time in them than in possible in our reality. It’s true that we occasionally stumble upon somewhere new to love. But mostly, we walk a path of beloved memories.

And so, instead of telling you about a single new restaurant we did enjoy, or remarking on a museum we visited for the first time – because I’ve already done that – I’ll tell the truth. We go back to the Cafe de Flore constantly. We will never tire of l’Afghani and will as devastated when it closes as we were when Pitzman did. And there is no museum that doesn’t offer at least one work to pique curiosity or spark a new interest. Paris is always a good idea. You can stand anywhere in the city, close your eyes, spin around and point to something to choose where you go, with no further reflection. It will still be rare that you go wrong.

That’s what I want to recommend this year. Just go to Paris. Don’t overthink it, don’t try too hard to do or see it all – you simply can’t, not even in a lifetime. But go to experience it, knowing that beyond the beauty and, in place, the overwhelming, often jarring ugliness, there is something for everyone to love.

“London is a riddle.
Paris is an explanation.”
– G. K. Chesterton

Of course, personally, I love it all – including, or perhaps especially, its flaws. That’s what love is, really; seeing someone or something for exactly what they are and choosing them not in spite but because of that, because you see the beauty in the imperfect whole. These photos, I hope, capture just a bit of it for you all to see, until you can visit. We’ll be back. We’ll always be back. And until the next time, I know the city will wait for us, evolving without ever losing the charm that makes it unique in the world.

Paris is an explanation – at least, it always has been for me. It’s the answer to all kinds of questions. And I’ll never love another place the way that I love it. I can say that with far more confidence than I can make restaurant or hotel recommendations. To me, it’s all perfect.

(But seriously, if you want up-to-date Paris recommendations, Conde Nast Traveler is the place to find them – and my favourite resource of all things travel planning.)