Forever Paris: 25 Walks in the Footsteps of the City's Most Illustrious Figures

25 Walks

by Christina Henry De Tessan

Take a stroll through Édith Piaf's Belleville, dine at Napoléon's favorite restaurant, and explore the late-night haunts of Ernest Hemingway, Josephine Baker, and Pablo Picasso. From the author of the best-selling City Walks: Paris deck, this lively collection of walking adventures follows in the footsteps of more than 25 of the city's iconic former residents. Throughout, Paris is seen from the intimate vantage point of those who loved it best, from the bars where authors penned classic works to the markets and patisseries where food lovers indulged. Including photos and full-color maps throughout, each walk in this book guides visitors and locals through the city that inspired some of the world's most famous artists, writers, chefs, musicians, politicians, and more.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, France, Art, History, Reference

Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Christina has worked in publishing for fifteen years, toiling away as both an in-house editor (Chronicle Books, Seal Press, Night + Day city guides) and a freelance writer before joining Girl Friday Productions, a boutique editorial and writing firm. On any given day, Christina may find herself editing a historical novel, generating snappy copy for a corporate website, writing a travel piece about one of her favorite cities, or doing market research for a client's book proposal. She loves all aspects of the book business--writing, editing, research, reading, and, of course, other people who share her passion for words. Originally from San Francisco, she enjoyed stints in Seattle and Paris before finally landing in the foodie-hipster mecca of Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her husband and two energetic sons. She loves indulging in dim sum in San Francisco, dress-shopping in Brooklyn, late-night book-browsing at Powells in Portland, and doing just about anything in Paris.

Reviews

[Overbooked ✎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this novel way of visiting the City of Light by retracing the steps of influential people who lived and loved Paris. The book is organised in mini chapters where a short biography and picture is followed by a walking tour, guiding the reader to the famous individual favourite spots. A good selection of artists (painters, singers, writers) as well as fashion icons, politicians and historical figures. A great armchair travel book. 3 ½ rounded up.

Favourite quotes:

“Paris is always a good idea” - Audrey Hepburn

“Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.” ― Molière

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide that anyone visiting Paris should pick up. Who wouldn't want to visit the places where Ernest Hemingway, Claude Monet, Julia Child, and more, walked and ate and lived?

[Kenzie Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the amazing opportunity to visit Paris over spring break, something I've been waiting for since the age of six, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. This book talked about so many cool people (my favorites, Audrey Hepburn and Victor Hugo), and being able to walk in their footsteps was indescribable. I definitely recommend everyone goes to Paris once in their lifetime, it's really something amazing.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compact book that provides interesting info about how these 25 famous folks were enchanted & shaped by Paris. The maps & directions look very clear. Thanks to Tracie for giving this to me, so that I can walk the streets & sit in the same cafes as Hemingway, Picasso, Piaf, and others. The additional tidbits of wisdom, such as "the ultimate Monet showcase is the Musee Marmottan", are insights not found in other guides.

[Barbara (The Bibliophage) · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're planning a trip to Paris in a few months, and this popped up on Monthly Kindle Deals for February. Of course, I grabbed it.

The book is divided into chapters, each focused on one famous Parisian. While they weren't all born in Paris, each person made their mark there. And Paris made a mark on them as well.

I enjoyed the history the author put together in each chapter. I also bookmarked several of the walks so that we can experience them when we visit Paris. She highlights many places I've heard plenty about, but also places that weren't on my radar. Sadly, some places she mentions are closed. But, on the whole, this book provided some great ideas.

I'll have to come back and update my review after our trip!

[Ana Mancuso · Rating 5 out of 5]

If due to this pandemic you are forced to delay your longtime dreamed trip to Paris, this book is the next best thing. In an edittion that is both beautiful and very well researched, the author takes you through the lives of lots of great personalities that left their mark on Paris (and have been marked and changed by the city as well), and through the walks they most surely had done during their time in this unique place. Hemingway, Monet, Edith Piaff, Chanel, De Gaulle, Picasso, Sartre, Anais Nin and many more came to life again in these pages to make your imagination experience their Paris. I plan to follow all their steps when I finally get to visit the city of lights again (in a not so distant future, I hope)

[Britt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the ebook on my way to Paris and found it a bit dull. It’s mostly cafes or homes famous Parisians frequented. There is so much to do in Paris, I don’t know how many people want to see the cafe that Coco Chanel ate at sometimes. If you are really into one of the people in the book, I would just look up notable places of their’s to visit on your own to get more than a couple pages of lackluster information.

[Bob Finch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great, brief bios of some famous Parisians (and a few influenced by Paris) combined with walks through parts of Paris where one can find landmarks or other curiosities reminiscent of those profiled. Each short bio provides a nice summary, kind of an appetizer to learn more. Of course, almost any walk in Paris is worthwhile, but taking this little book along can provide an extra level of pleasure.

[Ems Loves to Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply MUST take a trip to Paris just to take these walks. They're all laid out in great detail in the maps, so they'd be really easy to follow. I can't wait to take every one of these walks!

[etherealfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited e-book

[Hoai Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dream of Paris, of the stone pavement and grand designs. I saw the city map during French lessons but after reading "Forever Paris", each route and cafe started to have each own meaning. Hopefully, my dream of Paris will come to fruition soon enough.
I'm deeply interested in most people featured in the books, and completely ignorant of some (Serge Gainsbourge, Auguste Rodin), but nevertheless, it is a special guide for those who want to experience Paris in a historical, sensational and impactful way.
The book itself is beautifully designed from the cover to the maps and portraits.
Even when my map-reading is terrible, I would surely keep this book with me if I've ever gone to Paris.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, Paris is not a place that you go to see; it’s a place you go to feel. This little book is a menu to that concept. The format is simple but splendid—a single page is allocated to describing each noted person’s connection to the City of Light, followed by a page description of a walk that captures the geographic essence of that person’s typical Parisian wanderings, accompanied by a map laying out the walk. The book is not really a “travel guide” as much as it is a geographical romance guide to those personalities who are the artistic ambassadors of this avant-garde breeding ground. You follow the walk, see what they saw, and perhaps feel what they felt. All I can add is: mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup.

[Kellie's Book List · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Napoleon to Hemingway to Chanel, you'll find a walk (or two) that'll make you feel like a Parisian.

I'll admit, my reading of this book was more of a skim, but for those people that I have the most interest in: Audrey Hepburn, Julia Child, Monet, etc... I read their 'walks' in depth. I appreciated the formatting of the book. Each person has a short biography section, a description of their common stops, and a map that connects these places - giving the impression that this might have been the path they followed in the streets of Paris. I'm looking forward to visiting some of these sites during my visit there in a couple weeks.

[Nickitopster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely little book! There’s a brief story to introduce each of the twenty-five individuals and then a detailed walk around Paris where they lived, worked, and enjoyed the city. For me, there was often an interesting anecdote that I never knew…for example, Josephine Baker was actually born in St. Louis, Missouri and was given a state funeral for her work in the French resistance.

Since I don’t have any current overseas trips planned, I decided to use street view in Google maps to “walk” the routes. Highly recommend this book.

[Lindsey Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love finding houses of authors and historical people when I'm traveling, and visiting the same restaurants and places they did. This book was packed with info on many of Paris's most famous residents and I pulled a ton of info from it.

One thing to note - the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts has closed since this book's publication and is mentioned a couple of times in this book.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming little read; walks themed by Paris personalities. Team this with John Baxter and a good Paris travel guide and you'll be all set.

[Jennifer Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful walking guide of Paris.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, small (5" x 7") book, that is packed with great information regarding Paris, and the famous people who lived there during the 19th century. It includes Picasso, Coco Chanel, Hemingway, Honore de Balzac, Josephine Baker, Simone de Beauvoir & Jean Paul Satre, Toulouse-Lautrec, Julia Child, Emile Zola, Rodin, Moliere, Cartier-Bresson, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Sand, Yves Saint Laurent, Audrey Hepburn, Victor Hugo, Marie Antoinette, Henry Miller and Anais Nin, Monet, Matisse, and Colette. Each individual has 2 pages in the book that face each other. The first page is an overview of the individual's life their relationship to Paris. The next page is a detailed walking map with all the locations that individual's personal life (born, lived, etc.) as well as their own "personal walk ways" while living in Paris. I look forward to using this tiny book that I can carry with me as I walk in Paris this fall.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did the Ernest Hemingway walk and loved it. The directions/map were accurate and (mostly) clear, with enough historical and anecdotal tidbits to provide some context for what you're looking at. There are so many other walks I'd love to try in the future. There's a tour in this book to interest everyone: literary (Balzac, Simone de Beauvoir & Jean-Paul Sartre, Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, Henry Miller & Anais Nin, Colette), artistic (Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Rodin, Monet, Matisse), musical (Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Serge Gainsbourg), historical/political (Charles de Gaulle, Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Antoinette), and "miscellaneous" (Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, Julia Child). And more!

[Lune Lenore Violette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forever Paris is unique among many books on Paris I have read; instead of giving a tourist's guide overview of the city, complete with flowery descriptions, this book delves into the lives of some extraordinary Parisians and what they loved about their city. My favorite part are the brief biographies of each person, detailing their favorite spots in the city; care to visit Ernest Hemmingway's favorite cafe? This book can tell you how to get there. Curious to see where Edith Piaf first crooned "La Vie en Rose?" Directions enclosed. Highly recommended for anyone with fernweh for the city of lights.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book before my trip to Paris, somewhat interestedly...I stayed with a friend's parents, and everyone spoke French, and had ideas on where to take me, so I didn't really need planned out walks like this. But when I got back, it was fascinating to reread it and think "I was there!" or "Huh, I didn't get there. I'll have to put that on the list for next time." I'm definitely a walker/eater sort of travelers, though, and this was a great match to that. It could have done more, but what it did was well-done.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, light read through 25 famous Parisians, including where they lived and worked, and how to walk their favorite neighborhoods. I wish the biographical pages were more interesting -- they read a bit like an ad for Paris -- but I found the walking tours I used really added to our trip. I took pics of key pages w/my phone so I didn't have to carry the book around with us, and I added points I especially wanted to see to our city map so we could check them out if we happened to be nearby. The book is the perfect size to peruse on the flight there.

[Veldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a easy, pleasant guide book to read for a trip to Paris. Of course strictly speaking we definitely have more than 25 memorable people with their footsteps over the city of light. There is no Oscar Wilde, no Albert Camus, no Baudelaire, no Modigliani.. but we DO have Hemingway, Colette, Picasso, Chanel, Gainsbourg, Piaf and many more. Such routes we make it will be more than some spots on the tourist guide booklet but we also understand the history and importance of such places in French history.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect little book to pack into your suitcase for a trip to Paris. The book outlines walks in the footsteps of famous Parisians such as Julia Child and Claude Monet. It gives you background of what Paris was like during their time there and then a walking tour with stops at many of the places that they went to. It will be a fun book to use when visiting Paris. Or if you can't get to Paris, its a fun book to look at and imagine being in Paris!

[Karen! · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tiny book packs quite the punch. Short and to the point, this book does a great job of getting you around Paris in places where your favorite historical figures would have experienced Paris. Some of the ares are already tourist points (where else did Marie Antoinette go, after all?) but others lead the reader off the beaten path and into the historical beauty of Paris that every visitor should experience.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've walked in the footsteps of many of the "illustrious figures" featured in this book. Yet I also discovered many future additions to my strolls as well as new routes both direct and circuitous. I knew I'd love this book from the moment I read the first paragraph of the introduction. In fact, I shared it with a couple of friends with whom I've had the pleasure of helping discover/fall in love with Paris. One even questioned, "Are you sure YOU didn't write that?!"

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book published in an easy to carry size. The background allows one to absorb relevant facts before heading to the map and walks. Each starts and ends at a Metro station so these are easy to plan around as well and can take as long or as short as you wish depending on the time of day, the time of year and the surrounding distractions!

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that engaging unless you are planning a trip to Paris and are looking for suggestions for walks. All of the walks centre around former residents- Picasso, Hemingway- but I suspect that not all of them necessarily reflect that person. One would have to have a great love of one of the characters to glean value out of some of these areas.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was scholarly and well-researched. It helped the reader, step by step, to "tour" those historic locations and neighborhoods of Hemingway, Matisse, Baker, Marie Antoinette, all the rest of the 25 persons depicted. It made me feel I was traveling along on another 'virtual' visit to the City of Light.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait to visit Paris and try out some of the walks. Nice selection of 25 Paris personalities and different neighborhoods they haunted. Easy to understand directions starting always from a metro station for easy access wherever you might be staying.