In a beautiful city like Paris, I find the neighborhood of Le Marais to be one of the most beautiful, and I found the Place de Vosges in Le Marais to be one of the most beautiful parks. Below is a couple enjoying the park, in front of a fountain filled with kids chilling out and playing in the water.
This photo just strikes me of embodying Paris. In the background, the beautiful old classic Paris buildings. Then the bookstall for selling books and art on the Seine. And in the foreground, the classic French stall owner with a cigarette in his mouth. The photo feels like multiple levels of classic French culture captured all in one.
During a heatwave in Paris reaching 40 degrees celsius, kids in the city take refuge enjoying the cool water in the fountains - playing and cooling off in the hot summer.
This man just looks so French to me. From his expression. To his baguette.
Tour Montparnasse is a 60-story skyscraper in the 15th arrondissement, with a great rooftop observation deck over two floors at the top of the building with great views of the city of Paris. It was also incredibly quiet, no queue to get in and very chill place to hang out.
The Basilica of Sacre Coeur sits about a hilltop in the area of Montmartre in Paris, which is a beautiful artistic neighborhood in Paris. Visiting in June after not having visited for over a decade, I was shocked by the swarms of people visiting the area and just how crowded this neighborhood had become. I don't remember it being as overrun with tourists as I found it to be. I had thought it was a little bit off the beaten path, I guess not anymore. But was hard to enjoy the neighborhood up on the hill with the insane amount of tourists, so I spent most of my time in the neighborhood just below the hill, which previously had been somewhere a little sketchy and now had been rejuvenated I guess as it was filled of high end stores and cafes. Below are some views of Sacre Coeur and the view from climbing up to Sacre Coeur.
In the neighborhood of Montmartre, in the Place Emile Goudeau, the square looks down on a beautiful cafe that is set with a backdrop of the rest of Paris that lies below the hilltop location. Below are photos of the cafe and its classically French waiter, smoking and serving patrons. The cafe was called Le Relais de la Butte - and now I'm seeing on Google Maps that it doesnt have the best reviews despite its amazing location.
Two things that I am no longer used to seeing on city streets in the US - people reading from books and people smoking. I was struck in Paris by how many people were just hanging out outside on a bench reading books. And smoking. I never see people smoking any more. And in Paris, on the streets, there was lots of reading... and smoking... and sometimes people doing both at the same time.
