Admittedly, I’m not much of a city person. I prefer the quietude of places like the small Massachusetts town where I grew up, where I feel like I have the time and space to think. But something about Paris is magical to me. I’ve been fortunate to visit the city three times now—once on a family vacation, once to tag along with my mom on a work trip, and then to study over a summer. Each time I returned, I became more familiar with the city’s landscapes and rhythm, while simultaneously discovering new aspects of its charm.
As a history major in a family of history majors, Paris provides an infinite syllabus, with museums, landmarks, and cultural sites galore. There’s a sense of living history in the city etched into its very roads and buildings that I enjoy. Each time I arrived in the city with a new context and a new perspective, from a tourist to someone living there for an extended period. Familiarizing myself with my favorite museums, study spots, and cafes made me feel part of the city even as I remained somewhat of an outsider.
The picture at the top of this post actually captures the unexpected ways I came to appreciate Paris. This is from my second time in the city, when my twin sister and I accompanied our mom on a work trip. In the classic way, my mom claimed she knew where we were going, saying she remembered the route from our first trip to the city 4 years earlier. No need for a map, she claimed. Unsurprisingly, we quickly found ourselves lost. This sort of situation usually bothers me—I hate not knowing where I’m going. But instead of getting frustrated, I started to appreciate the walk, admiring the buildings and unique character that makes Paris Paris.
That area where we roamed for the better part of an hour, Île Saint-Louis, is now my favorite part of the city. An island within a city, it presented a surmountable challenge for me to master; a smaller, contained area for me to tackle. When my sister visited me during my summer abroad the next year, we returned to the Ile Saint-Louis, and by that time I became the tour guide, leading us to our favorite bridge overlooking the Seine and the small shop with our favorite strawberry and mango sorbet. Here we are walking around the island, sorbet in hand.
Whereas I was at first overwhelmed by the unfamiliar city and its foreign language, now I feel almost at home there. Even though I still don’t speak French and have only cumulatively spent a few months there, the memories and experiences I’ve had there have transformed Paris into my favorite city.
