A Wander in Paris
We spend the final day of our journey through France wandering around Paris, powered by whim.
On our previous visit to Paris more than two decades earlier, Marianne and I had focused our time on seeing the big sights: the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, and so on. This time, for the final day of our journey from Provence to Paris, we decided to simply wander.
There is a precise word for this fundamentally French activity: flânerie, which means to amble about with no particular destination in mind. French poet and essayist Charles Baudelaire was the first to describe the Parisian pleasure for disappearing into the crowds: “For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite,” he wrote in 1863. “To be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the center of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world – impartial natures which the tongue can but clumsily define.”
We began our flânerie with coffee and pastries at Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore founded in 1951 by George Whitman. It carries on a tradition that began in 1919 when American bookseller Sylvia Beach opened a bookshop with the same name on Paris’ Left Bank. That store closed in 1941. Whitman’s shop was originally named Le Mistral but changed to Shakespeare and Company in 1964 to celebrate Beach and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth.
Next, we strolled the Seine to see les bouquinistes — sellers who line both sides of the river with displays of rare and antique books, posters, magazines, postcards, and more. This Parisian tradition goes back to booksellers who set up shop on Pont Neuf in the early 17th century. It was formally regulated in 1859 with licensing fees and standard dimensions for each shop’s “box” along the Seine.
We crossed Pont de l'Archevêché — the narrowest road bridge in Paris — to Île de la Cité, taking a route behind Notre-Dame to Pont Saint-Louis, a short bridge connecting to Paris’ other central island, Île Saint-Louis. From there, we continued north into the plentiful shops of the Le Marais district.
It was another perfect day in France, a fall morning generously warmed with sun. We stepped into many stores, delighting in antiques and oddities not found in typical tourist shops. And on seemingly every corner, we found plenty of pastries.
Our path took us down the busy Rue de Rivoli to Hôtel de Ville, which has been the site of Paris’ city government since 1357.
The first building that served as the headquarters for Paris’ municipality was demolished and rebuilt between 1533 and 1628. That building burned down during the final days of the Paris Commune, a socialist revolutionary government led by National Guard troops with working-class sympathies that seized control of the French capital for more than two months in 1871. The current Hôtel de Ville was reconstructed to mimic the original design.
Looking for a change in scenery, we hopped aboard the Metro and took it straight to the Arc de Triomphe, which honors those who fought in the French Revolutionary and Napoleanic Wars, with an additional vault containing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
We descended to catch another train, bringing us to Pont de Bir Hakeim — which references a French victory during World War II over the Ottomans in Libya — for a fine view of the Eiffel Tower. We continued over the bridge to the north bank for more angles of the iconic landmark.
We soon came upon another Metro station and boarded a train to the east, stopping in the district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, known for its museums and art galleries. Our goal was to find a spot for lunch, and we continued our multicultural culinary exploration of France with excellent chicken souvlaki skewers and plenty of tzatziki at a Greek restaurant called Zorba.
We stayed above ground for the walk back to our hotel. The Rugby World Cup was underway in Paris at the time, and the match of the night featured Ireland’s squad against Scotland. Fans of both teams filled nearly every bar we encountered on the day.
After a rest (and, of course, cocktail hour) at our hotel, we returned to the streets of Paris and Le Marais at sunset, this time passing in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, its restoration on schedule for the Paris 2024 Olympics. People lined both banks of the Seine, dangling legs over the water and taking in the final moments of daylight over this splendid city.
We settled on a proper French meal for our final dinner in France at Au Bourguignon du Marais, leaning heavily into Burgundian cuisine. We had an absolutely outstanding French onion soup followed by a rich and delicious beef bourguignon, all paired with Burgundy from Mercurey, which we had visited earlier in the week.
We spent more time along the Seine on our way back to the hotel, satisfied with an excellent meal and elated with the success of our voyage. We had explored the villages, wineries, and countryside of Provence; taken a river cruise up the Rhône to experience historic towns and local culture; and finished with a crescendo in the opulence and magnificence of Versailles and Paris. The City of Light sparkling upon the Seine at night served as the perfect denouement for a once-in-a-lifetime journey.
~ fin ~