City TRIP
Paris
You could make the bold claim that Paris is like any other European metropolis: in addition to richly ornate architecture, historical landmarks and excellent croissants, the city of love also shows its less glamorous side with noisy traffic, relentless homelessness and underground stations that reek of urine. So why should a city trip to Paris be worthwhile? We say, because of the ‚Esprit de vie‘!
As big chocolate lovers, we get our money's worth in Paris. One chocolatier next to the other, and each one offers home-made creations to melt away. Fine pralines with nougat, hazelnut, coconut and dark chocolate, as well as selected bars with milk, brittle, marzipan and pistachio. With so much choice, it's hard to decide. That's why we're only too happy to try our way through until we find our favourites and wrap them up. We can taste the love for the product with every hesitant nibble and appreciate this delicate craft even more. Our recommendation: the particularly fine delicacies from ‘Debauve & Gallais’ and ‘Chapon Chocolaterie’. And if you can't get enough of fluffy, chocolaty giant brioches, then ‘Aux Merveilleux de Fred’ will make your heart beat faster.
Food plays a major role in Paris anyway. Here, however, it's less about eating and more about spending time consciously, reading alone or talking and laughing together. But above all, it's about enjoyment! And it seems that Parisians in particular gather in their countless bistros, restaurants and cafés to celebrate meal time with care.
After eating is before strolling. Now in March, the first rays of sunshine are warming up the city and its inhabitants. People go jogging, have picnics or simply sunbathe in several parks. We find the ‘Jardin du Luxembourg’ particularly relaxing. Although still a little sparsely overgrown in spring, the atmosphere here is incredibly beautiful. Sun-seeking visitors on chairs and benches indulge in the spring sunshine with their sleeves and trouser legs rolled up. Fitness enthusiasts of all ages, shapes and fitness levels run lap after lap in sometimes wonderfully amusing jogging styles. And chattering parrots flutter excitedly from tree to tree and seem to want to comment on what is happening below them.
Slightly sun-kissed, we go shopping. Because the department stores culture is capitalised in Paris. Not always affordable but still well worth a visit. The ‘Samaritaine Pont-Neuf’, for example, presents designer brands in an architecturally historic setting with a keen sense of tradition. A wide range of delicacies and interiors can be found at ‘Le Bon Marché’. And the ‘Galeries Lafayette’ impresses most with its colourful glass dome and a spectacular rooftop view over the city of Paris.
And although admiring the sights cannot be fully attributed to savoir-vivre alone, Paris simply cannot be done without it. Without stress, without haste and completely undisturbed, we enjoy a unique view of the city's landmarks from the roof terrace of our ‘Hotel Dame des Arts Paris’: Notre-Dame de Paris, Sacré-Coeur and, of course, La Tour Eiffel.
Once we have gained an overview of the city at sunset, we head for the individual sights with even more focus. What's on the way? Art, of course! Paris literally breathes art. Numerous exhibitions, galleries, vernissages and museums invite you to be inspired by their multifaceted offerings. Here, too, it is difficult to choose when you only have a few days to visit Paris. However, we were less fascinated by the old masters in the ‘Musée d'Orsay’. Rather, it was the installations by two contemporary artists in the ‘Bourse de Commerce’: Ali Cherri, who exhibits a number of sculptures in 24 showcases in the arched passageway, which thematise questions about the body and its limits in a historical context. And Arthur Jafa, whose video installation in the large domed hall celebrates the culture and history of the American-Black population.
Admittedly: Paris – like every other city – has its less worth seeing sides. But: Paris also has that certain, sometimes romanticised flair that is simply incredibly enchanting for us.
France, March 2025. | All words and photos by The Sturgheons.
