30 Quotes That Prove Paris Isn’t Just a City—It’s a Feeling
There’s Paris—and then there’s everywhere else.
Few cities inspire quite like the French capital. Whether it’s the light, the love, the lingering scent of fresh croissants in the air, Paris has a way of capturing hearts—and holding on tight.
Writers, artists, dreamers, and drifters have tried for centuries to put the magic of Paris into words. Some succeeded beautifully. Here are 30 of the most famous, insightful, and poetic quotes about Paris—each one a love letter to the City of Light.
Famous Quotes About Paris:
“Paris is always a good idea.” – Audrey Hepburn
“When good Americans die, they go to Paris.” – Oscar Wilde
“To know Paris is to know a great deal.” – Henry Miller
“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
“America is my country, and Paris is my hometown.” – Gertrude Stein
“Paris is not a city; it’s a world.” – King Francis I of France
“Breathe Paris in. It nourishes the soul.” – Victor Hugo
“London is a riddle. Paris is an explanation.” – G.K. Chesterton
“Paris is the only city in the world where starving to death is still considered an art.” – Carlos Ruiz Zafón
“There is but one Paris and however hard living may be here… the French air clears up the brain and does good – a world of good.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.” – Thomas Jefferson
“Paris is the city in which one loves to live.” – Marguerite Duras
“Paris is the greatest temple ever built to material joys and the lust of the eyes.” – Henry James
“You can’t ever be really free if you admire somebody too much.” – Tove Jansson
“Paris was a universe whole and entire unto herself, hollowed and fashioned by history.” – Anne Rice
“Paris holds the key to your heart.” – Anastasia (film)
“To study in Paris is to be born in Paris!” – Victor Hugo
“There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Paris at dawn is one of those rare cities where you get the feeling that something worthwhile could happen to you.” – Pierre Assouline
“The best of America drifts to Paris. The American in Paris is the best American.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Secrets travel fast in Paris.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“Paris is the city where artists go to paint and writers go to bleed.” – Unknown
“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
“Paris is where the heart is.” – Unknown
“Paris exists to remind you that your dreams are real.” – Unknown
“It is perfectly possible to be enamoured of Paris while remaining totally indifferent or even hostile to the French.” – James Baldwin
“Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. It brings tears to your eyes.” – Lee Radziwill
“Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman.” – John Berger
“Paris is like a beautiful woman with dirty feet.” – Fran Lebowitz
“She wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris.” – Gustave Flaubert
