Living In Paris (New Edition)

What makes Paris so charming, so seductive? Why does it arouse such admiration? Perhaps because Paris is not always Paris: it would be a mistake to assume that the city is harmonious and uniform from the center to the outskirts. Paris is more like a cluster of villages, each of which has retained its own appearance, character, customs, and even fragrance. Each neighborhood has its own fashions, faces, storefronts, organization, hierarchy, and rituals. By resisting any tendancy to centralize or standardize, Paris has managed to retain a feeling of intimacy and human scale unique among capital cities. And Parisians are always on the lookout for something exceptional and original. True Parisian chic entails not only discovering a little restaurant where the food is better and the interior more original than anywhere else, but also knowing enchanting streets untouched by time, boutiques where rare items are cultivated like hothouse flowers, and charming courtyard gardens far removed from the urban noise and bustle.

José Alvarez is founder of Les éditions du Regard and writes regularly for well-known art and decorative arts journals.