Christina Henry de Tessan - Forever Paris: 25 Walks in the Footsteps of Chanel, Hemingway, Picasso, and More

PHOTO CREDITS.

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: 2011 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Runion des Muses Nationaux / Art Resource, NY

: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand Collection. LC-USZ62-102576

: Ernest Hemingway outside of his residence at 13 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Paris, c. 1924. Photograph in the Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand Collection. LC-USZ62-111592

: Office of War Information, Overseas Picture Division

: Title page of Old Goriot, 1834

: Photo by Stanislaus Walery, 1926, via Wikimedia Commons

: Photographer unknown, c. 1930s, via Wikimedia Commons

: Moulin de la Galette, 1889, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, via Wikimedia Commons

: Photo by Paul Child. The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

: Photo by Gaspard-Flix Tournachon, date unknown, via Wikimedia Commons

: Photo by Gertrude Ksebier, 1905, via Wikimedia Commons

: Frontispiece of an 1840 edition of Thtre franaisuvres de Molire, diteurs Martial Ardant frres; photograph by Jodelet/Lpinay

: Dmitri Kessel/Time&Life Pictures/Getty Images

: Portrait of Napolon in his Study at the Tuileries, Jacques-Louis David, 1812, via Wikimedia Commons

: Photo by Gaspard-Flix Tournachon, 1865, via Wikimedia Commons

: Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images

: Cover of Jours de France, February 17, 1955. From Audrey Hepburn: International Cover Girl, by Scott Brizel

: Photo by Gaspard-Flix Tournachon, c. 1870, via Wikimedia Commons

: Portrait af Marie Antoinette at Age 12, Martin van Meytens, 1767, via Wikimedia Commons

: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Van Vechten Collection. LC-USZ62-42523, 1959

: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection, reproduction number LC-USZ62- 112039, 1940

: Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival af June 30, 1878, 1878, Claude Monet, via Wikimedia Commons

: Jean-Jacques Bernier/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

: Photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1933, via Wikimedia Commons

: Photographer unknown, date unknown, Collection Centre dtudes Colette.

I love Paris. And I know Im not alone in that regard. Ive strategized long and hard to find ways to spend time there on a regular basis. I love visiting favorite places that I know will deliver a happy frisson of delight when I step insidethe paper shop where I once bought my wedding invitations, whose fragile old door still signals my arrival with that familiar little jingle; my favorite, intimate, packed-to-the-rafters bookshop; the Luxembourg Gardens on a crisp autumn day; the satisfaction of knowing where to buy the best chausson aux pommes. And the list goes on. But I also love Paris because it never fails to teach me something new. No matter how many times Ive walked its streets, I always happen upon some detail that Ive never noticed beforea plaque identifying where someone lived, a centuries-old restaurant hidden down some side street, a specialty museum I never knew existed, a new patissier, even a graceful new bridge arcing across the Seine. Each discovery offers me a fresh chance to fall in love with the city anew.

This guide follows in the footsteps of twenty-seven of Pariss most famous artists, authors, lovers, politicians, and neer-do-wells. From Napolon Bonaparte to Coco Chanel to Serge Gainsbourg, the intimate walking tours within illuminate the lives and loves of some of Pariss best-known devotees. But this guide also shows how important the city itself is to their stories, and what a catalyst it has been over time. Paris, in many cases, helped these people find their calling. They used the city as their muse, drew inspiration from its beauty, exposed its underbelly, and, in every single case, were transformed and elevated by it. As a result, they went on to change the course of art, fashion, food, philosophy, politics, and beyond. The well-loved streets are not just atmospheric (though they are that) or full of pretty things (though they most definitely are that too). They have served as a force for changecompelling these people to create something new, whether it was the first little black dress or the first Modernist painting.

As for how to use this guide, it should be quite straightforward. For each person featured, youll find a brief history that focuses on Pariss role in their life and an accompanying walk that leads you to the places that were important to them. Metro stops are indicated at the start of the walk, and destinations covered on the walk are highlighted in bold and numbered. The numbers correspond to the map and follow the walking route. Most of the walks take place in a single neighborhood, though a few require that you hop on the metro (these are marked). At the end of some walks, youll find additional options for further research relevant to the walk. These might include places to go to hear jazz, restaurants to savor, or museums to explore. All walks begin and end at metro stops (with the exception of the Marie Antoinette walk).

As you retrace the steps of some of Pariss most illustrious residentswalking along both familiar boulevards and unknown streets, eating and drinking at their favorite spots, exploring their neighborhoods, seeing where they painted, wrote, argued, learned, loved, and livedyou can see the city with a fresh eye and come to appreciate its intoxicating, inspiring power as never before.