Our Week in Paris

Bonjour Friends!

This week brought some firsts that reminded me why Paris keeps surprising me, even after all this time living here. We made our way to the Tuileries Garden for the annual Fête des Tuileries. I finally rode the giant Ferris wheel for the first time. Not sure what took me so long. The views from the top are absolutely stunning.

You can see across the entire city, from the Louvre spreading out below to Montmartre in the distance. This year, the famous funfair sits right alongside the Olympic cauldron, which adds something special to the whole experience. If you're in Paris this week, you've still got time before it closes on August 24th.

We also tried HolyBelly for the first time. Eggs, crispy bacon, hashbrowns, fluffy pancakes, delicious bread, and something you don't find in Paris: filtered drip coffee served in a mug. Not espresso, not café au lait, although I love both. Just good ol’ fashioned drip coffee. Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss the simple comfort of diner food until you're sitting there with a stack of pancakes and coffee that reminds you of your college days. 🤣

This is what I love about Paris. It's a city of such abundance and constant evolution that you can live here for years and still have "first-time" experiences every week. New restaurants opening (or just new to you), seasonal events returning, hidden corners you somehow never noticed.

Linking You to Paris

➡️ The Food Neighborhood Still Capturing the Zeitgeist of Old Paris: Smart Luxury offers a flavorful guide to Paris’s Rue Montorgueil, spotlighting this lively neighborhood’s top food shops, markets, and cafés.

➡️ I'm a Mom in Paris—and These Are My 11 Must-visit Spots With Kids: Travel + Leisure rounds up the best things to do in Paris with kids, offering family-friendly activities, attractions, and insider tips to help make your visit fun and memorable for all ages.

➡️ 6 Best Day Trips from Paris: Condé Nast Traveler curates a list of the best day trips from Paris, highlighting charming towns, historic sites, and scenic escapes just beyond the city limits.

➡️ Does France still shut down for the month of August?: The Connexion answers the common question about whether France still shuts down in August, providing practical insights into how the country’s summer traditions affect daily life, business hours, and travel plans.

PARIS HIDDEN GEMS
Revolutionary Graffiti Hidden in Plain Sight

On my walking tours through the Marais, I love showing guests something that most visitors walk right past. Inside the Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, on the second pillar to the right as you enter, you can still see faded graffiti that reads "République française ou la mort" (French Republic or death).

What fascinates me about this discovery is how Paris layers its history. This church was built between 1627 and 1641 by Jesuit architects on the orders of Louis XIII, making it nearly 400 years old. During the French Revolution, it was closed and turned into a storehouse and a temple of the Cult of Reason, stripping it of its religious purpose entirely.

But the graffiti itself tells an even more specific story. This message was written during the Paris Commune of 1871, probably during the first days of "bloody week" when Versailles troops entered Paris to crush the insurrection. A Communard, hearing that government forces were entering the city, shared his republican convictions inside the church.

We have a 17th-century church built for the Jesuits, transformed during one revolution into a temple of reason, and then marked by graffiti from another revolutionary moment 80 years later. Now it's a working Catholic church again, visited by tourists from around the world who have no idea they're looking at over 150 years of radical political history.

We don't know if the author survived the violent suppression that followed, but his words remain, almost erased yet still visible to anyone who knows where to look. It's exactly the kind of hidden story that makes exploring Paris so rewarding.

Want a Private Paris Tour With Me? Learn About My Tours Here

PARIS STREET STORIES
Rue de Rivoli: Napoleon's Grand Vision

Walk down Rue de Rivoli today and you're following one of Napoleon's most ambitious urban planning projects. The street is named after the Battle of Rivoli, fought on January 14-15, 1797, where Napoleon defeated an Austrian army.

Taking inspiration from a revolutionary project of 1793, Napoleon, as First Consul, issued a decree on October 9, 1801, ordering the creation of this new thoroughfare. Construction began in 1802, but the street wasn't completed until 1865.

What Napoleon envisioned was revolutionary in its own way. The street represents a transitional compromise between prestigious monuments and modern town planning. Architects Percier and Fontaine designed buildings that would harmonize with the facing Tuileries gardens and Louvre Palace, creating those iconic covered arcades that still define the western section today.

The restored Bourbon King Charles X continued it eastward from the Louvre, as did King Louis-Philippe. Finally, Emperor Napoleon III extended it into the quarter of Le Marais. This is why the eastern section looks different from the western part with its uniform facades and arches.

Creating this grand thoroughfare required demolishing dozens of medieval streets, lanes, squares, and gardens that had existed for centuries. Some had wonderfully quirky names like "Rue des Mauvaises Paroles" (Street of Bad or Evil Words) that disappeared forever as the new street carved its path through old Paris.

What started as one man's vision to create a grand east-west axis through Paris became the backbone that connects the heart of the city. Walking its length today, you're experiencing Napoleon's dream of a more livable, more connected Paris.

FRENCH SONG OF THE WEEK
BEYRIES - J'aurai cent ans (avec Louis-Jean Cormier)

There's something about the way this song moves that stops me when I hear it. The melody has this gentle, contemplative quality that feels perfect for late summer evenings in Paris. BEYRIES' voice paired with Louis-Jean Cormier creates something that just makes you want to sit quietly and let the music wash over you.

PARIS LOVE AFFAIR TOURS
Discover Paris With Me

Want to experience Paris beyond the guidebooks? Join me for private walking and/or biking tours for fascinating stories, hidden corners, and local insights that make this city extraordinary. From the bohemian streets of Montmartre to the medieval layers of the Marais, each tour combines history, recommendations, and the kind of authentic discoveries that turn a visit into a love affair with Paris.