Must-read books for anyone heading to Paris

"A Movable Feast" by Hemingway
"The Most Beautiful Walk in the World" by John Baxter

This is fiction, but I really enjoyed Emile Zola's "The Belly of Paris". It really brings the 19th century Paris to life. You can almost smell Les Halles.
Enjoy.

I loved Greater Journey too - it actually covers roughly 1830 - 1900, with Samuel Morse and Emma Willard among the earliest travelers highlighted. I read Alistair Horne's Seven Ages of Paris before spending three fabulous weeks there in 2003; in a little under 500 pages, Horne takes you from Paris in 1180 all the way to De Gaulle into the 1960s. I found it well written and fascinating, and I highly recommend it.

"Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris" by Graham Robb. A rather chatty and easily digestible history of the city that is occasionally Paul Harvey-esque in its presentation ("And now you know ... the rest of the story.").

"Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik, entertaining memoir of his time in Paris as a journalist in 1990s with his family. Much better than the leaden stuff he now writes for the New Yorker.

A wry , hugely entertaining book , " The Sweet Life in Paris " by the chef David Lebovitz is a first hand look by one American expatriate at the experience of living in Paris .

I would add "Is Paris Burning?" by Larry Collins, a real page turner. Also "Paris to the Past" by Ina Caro.

Thank you! Looking forward to checking out all of these.

Piano Shop on the Left Bank

I second the David Lebovitz suggestion. Also, Ladies Paradise by Emile Zola, which is fiction, but so enjoyable. What about Julia Child's My Life in France? Not sure if you're interested in memoirs.

I did read a biography about Julia Child called "Appetite for Life," I believe, which was interesting. Her Paris years were some of my favorite parts. I skimmed her memoir but the writing style irked me. In general I do like memoirs if they're written well, so please suggest others that you know of that relate to Paris (or life in France in general). I recently found "Suite Francaise" at a used bookstore which I'm looking forward to reading.

Suite Francaise is an amazing book.

French or Foe by Polly Platt

La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life by Elaine Sciolino.

We finally got to Paris a couple of years ago and were enthralled by the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards, the hubbs and I both really enjoyed reading "Eiffel's Tower" by Jill Jonnes (The thrilling story behind Paris's beloved monument and the extraordinary World's Fair that introduced it.). The book was very interesting and gave good insight to the life and times of that era, including the visits of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. Another interesting book is "Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. She takes a true historical event the "Vel' d'Hiv roundup" of French Jews in Paris in July of 1942 and interweaves it with a contemporary fictional heroine Julia Jarmond, an American ex-pat living in Paris. The Paris Walks Marais 2 tour goes through part of the Jewish quarter where the book takes place.

It's not just about Paris, but I liked "Mastering the Art of French Eating". I forget the author's name but it's on Amazon. Her hero is Julia Childs, so she would ask herself, What would Julia do? She goes to different regions of France to search out THE dish of the region. She gives you some history on the food and at the end of the chapter a recipe.

Thank you all! These are wonderful suggestions!