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Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light (2011)

par David Downie

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224	7	120,311	(3.74)	5
Travel. Nonfiction. HTML: Swapping his native San Francisco for the City of Light, travel writer David Downie arrived in Paris in 1986 on a one-way ticket, his head full of romantic notions. Curiosity and the legs of a cross-country runner propelled him daily from an unheated, seventh-floor walk-up garret near the Champs-�?lysées to the old Montmartre haunts of the doomed painter Modigliani, the tombs of Père-Lachaise cemetery, the luxuriant alleys of the Luxembourg Gardens, and the aristocratic �?le Saint-Louis midstream in the Seine. Downie wound up living in the chic Marais district, married to the Paris-born American photographer Alison Harris, an equally incurable walker and chronicler. Ten books and a quarter-century later, he still spends several hours every day rambling through Paris and writing about the city he loves. An irreverent, witty romp featuring thirty-one short prose sketches of people, places, and daily life, Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light ranges from the glamorous to the least-known corners and characters of the world's favorite ci… (plus d'informations)

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ChrisKubica, freshmenarerats, ricko800, AbbyClingerPA, AMAbrams, zot79, jeff.coatsworth, kenspa20, drmom62

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rakerman: Both Parisians and Paris, Paris convey a sense of the city through chapters devoted to interesting people (as well as places and phenomena in the case of Paris, Paris). Parisians is both literally and figuratively the weightier book, with a deeper look at the history of Paris. Together they make good companions for seeing the city from many different angles.… (plus d'informations)
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Paris to the Moon par Adam Gopnik (rakerman)
rakerman: Paris to the Moon is a much more wistful, intimate look at Paris, but both books are from the perspective of someone who has spent years living in Paris. In the book Paris, Paris the approach is to give a sense of the city through the people, places and phenomena that have shaped it, as filtered through the experiences of the author. In Paris to the Moon it's much more about getting a sense of what it is like to live in the city as an outsider.… (plus d'informations)

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This is not a travel guide and it's not a history book and it's not really a memoir. So what is it?

It's a pleasant stroll along the Seine with a friend pointing out things you would not have noticed by yourself. It's an American ex-pat familiar with the city taking you to the hidden places and giving you the background on who built it, who lived there, and why. It's a morning in the park or cafe watching people and smelling the flowers. It's a rambly collection of essays about Paris, its history, its people and its personality.

I quite enjoyed most of the essays. I'd recommend it to someone planning a trip to the City of Light. (

)

zot79 | Aug 20, 2023 |

Part history book, part travelogue, part mesmerizing, part yawn-inducing. Mostly interesting - although I confess that two separate sections on cemeteries tried my patience. I will likely refer back to this book when planning a trip to The City of Light. Overall worth the time invested. (

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Brauer11431 | Apr 16, 2019 |

Words by Don George in National Geographic Traveler (he says it all): “… evocative and moving… Downie’s quest is unconventional in tone and spirit as well as route. A lively wordsmith… Downie brings a deep and impassioned knowledge of French history, culture, and language to this pilgrimage. He also brings something more, a longing that he himself can’t pin down at the beginning… they encounter a memorable succession of taciturn, deep-rooted local farmers and gregarious, transplanted-from-Paris innkeepers. They also encounter the multi-layered, interweaving pathways of French history, commerce, religion, and spirituality—and manage to tuck in a few sumptuous celebrations of French food and wine, too. The result is an extraordinary account that illuminates France past and present and casts a light on something even greater: the truth that, however we choose to label our journey, we are all pilgrims on a common quest, to answer why we wander life’s question-paved path.”

DavidDownie | Dec 18, 2014 |

Another of my travel preparation reads, this book is an absolute delight, as well as an invaluable guide to the people, places and phenomena of Paris. It’s far more than a guide however. It unlocks the secret soul of Paris in a way that only a true lover of the city could. Downie is certainly that, having lived there with his wife since the 1980s. He has the gift of capturing places that allows you to see them in a new and intriguing light, and to arouse your curiosity so immediately that you are compelled to find out more. There are some outstanding chapters on Parisian haunts that lots of people may think they know well, such as the Luxembourg Gardens, the Père Lachaise Cemetery, the old Les Halles area, the Marais and so on. In Downie’s book you’ll be taken on such a lively and vivid tour, complete with history, little known facts and quirky details that, like me, you won’t rest until you can experience it all for yourself. (

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Anne_Green | Nov 10, 2014 |

My favorite book of Paris essays, no question. (

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TanteLeonie | Mar 31, 2013 |

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Travel. Nonfiction. HTML:

Swapping his native San Francisco for the City of Light, travel writer David Downie arrived in Paris in 1986 on a one-way ticket, his head full of romantic notions. Curiosity and the legs of a cross-country runner propelled him daily from an unheated, seventh-floor walk-up garret near the Champs-�?lysées to the old Montmartre haunts of the doomed painter Modigliani, the tombs of Père-Lachaise cemetery, the luxuriant alleys of the Luxembourg Gardens, and the aristocratic �?le Saint-Louis midstream in the Seine.

Downie wound up living in the chic Marais district, married to the Paris-born American photographer Alison Harris, an equally incurable walker and chronicler. Ten books and a quarter-century later, he still spends several hours every day rambling through Paris and writing about the city he loves. An irreverent, witty romp featuring thirty-one short prose sketches of people, places, and daily life, Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light ranges from the glamorous to the least-known corners and characters of the world's favorite ci

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