25 Beautiful Quotes About Paris

I don’t know what it is about Paris, but it is one of my favourite European cities. The whole place screams romance, sophistication and art, and I love it a little bit more every time I visit. Here are 25 beautiful quotes about Paris that perfectly capture what we love about the city to inspire your next trip.

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Beautiful Quotes About Paris

It’s no wonder that a city that has inspired so many artists, poets and writers is so often described in literature. As a result, there are so many beautiful quotes about Paris out there. If you’re looking for inspiration, here are 25 of my favourite quotes about Paris that perfectly articulate why we love the French capital.

“Paris is always a good idea.”

Audrey Hepburn

“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life.”

Thomas Jefferson

It is true that there is so much to take in and learn from a visit to Paris. It’s such a timeless city where history blends seamlessly with modern. You’ll be amazed what a trip to Paris can teach you!

“To know Paris is to know a great deal.”

Henry Miller

No matter how many times I visit Paris I’m not convinced I will ever “know” the city. With every trip it finds new ways to surprise me!

“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.”

Ernest Hemingway

“You know, I sometimes think, how is anyone ever gonna come up with a book, or a painting, or a symphony, or a sculpture that can compete with a great city. You can’t. Because you look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights. I mean come on, there’s nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafés, people drinking and singing. For all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe.”

Owen Wilson

There’s so much vibrant life in Paris, it is hard to imagine there is anywhere in the universe that can compare. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit so many wonderful destinations, but something keeps drawing me back to Paris.

“We’ll always have Paris.”

Howard Koch

“London is a riddle. Paris is an explanation.”

G. K. Chesterson

“Paris was a universe whole and entire unto herself, hollowed and fashioned by history; so she seemed in this age of Napoleon III with her towering buildings, her massive cathedrals, her grand boulevards and ancient winding medieval streets–as vast and indestructible as nature itself. All was embraced by her, by her volatile and enchanted populace thronging the galleries, the theaters, the cafes, giving birth over and over to genius and sanctity, philosophy and war, frivolity and the finest art; so it seemed that if all the world outside her were to sink into darkness, what was fine, what was beautiful, what was essential might there still come to its finest flower. Even the majestic trees that graced and sheltered her streets were attuned to her–and the waters of the Seine, contained and beautiful as they wound through her heart; so that the earth on that spot, so shaped by blood and consciousness, had ceased to be the earth and had become Paris.”

Anne Rice

It’s difficult not to think of Paris personified. The city has such a unique aura that it lives and breathes in our memories as real as a person we have met and conversed with. When the city is such a strong character, it’s no wonder it attracts so many writers.

“When good Americans die, they go to Paris.”

Oscar Wilde

Paris sounds like my idea of Heaven!

“Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant.”

Honoré de Balzac

“Paris is not a city; it’s a world.”

King Francis I

An escape to Paris is always so diverse and varied, it certainly feels like a whole world is contained within the city. Paris is the perfect place to go if you want to forget about everything that is going on anywhere else because you get so lost in the place.

“An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

Paris is persistently seen as the home of the arts. It is almost a rite of passage for artists to spend time developing their crafts in the city.

“Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. It brings tears to your eyes.”

Lee Radziwill

“The chief danger about Paris is that it is such a strong stimulant.”

T. S. Eliot

I’m definitely addicted to Paris! The city has a buzz and an energy about it that is intoxicating and keeps drawing you back.

“America is my country and Paris is my hometown.”

Gertrude Stein

Paris has a familiarity of homeliness about it. Even if you’re visiting Paris for the first time, it feels like you’re being greeted by an old friend.

“Secrets travel fast in Paris.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

“There are only two places in the world where we can live happy—at home and in Paris.”

Ernest Hemingway

“When spring comes to Paris the humblest mortal alive must feel that he dwells in paradise.”

Henry Miller

Somehow I’ve never managed to visit Paris in the spring! But having seen beautiful images of the streets in bloom, it is easy to see how it must feel like paradise.

“Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman.”

John Berger

“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.”

Julian Barnes

Every little detail of Paris is beautiful. There is nothing mundane or ordinary about any of it. It is when you start to see the beauty in the tiny details that you really start to appreciate the city.

“…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.”

James Thurber

“I like The Eiffel Tower because it looks like steel and lace.”

Natalie Lloyd

“I had forgotten how gently time passes in Paris. As lively as the city is, there’s a stillness to it, a peace that lures you in. In Paris, with a glass of wine in your hand, you can just be.”

Kristin Hannah

It’s true that there is an element of peace to be found in Paris, despite the fact it is a capital city. Paris seems to move at its own, unique pace.

“He who contemplates the depths of Paris is seized with vertigo. Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more tragic. Nothing is more sublime.”

Victor Hugo

“I guess it goes to show that you just never know where life will take you. You search for answers. You wonder what it all means. You stumble, and you soar. And, if you’re lucky, you make it to Paris for a while.”

Amy Thomas

Feeling Inspired?

If you’re feeling inspired to visit Paris, start planning your trip by checking out some of these great guides:

Beautiful Quotes About Paris

So these are 25 beautiful quotes about Paris to satisfy your wanderlust and inspire your next trip! Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comments!

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