There is one thing that Paris does very well and it is the many details that you can find around every corner. When asked in interviews what my favorite thing about Paris is, it is always the details. From the cathedral grates around the bases of trees to the Vert Wagon green that you will find all over Paris from the bouquinistes to the benches, I love them all. Each and every thing was thought out over the centuries and we are the lucky recipients to see them all. Between the details on the street and the art in the museums, these are some of my very favorite books on the subject.
Curiosities of Paris by Dominique Lesbros is a fantastic book for the eagle-eyed traveler. When I am walking down any street in Paris my head is on a constant swivel looking for every plaque, old street sign, and door knocker. The pages of this book are filled with things that even the savviest flaneur may miss. The remains of the ancient walls that once encircled Paris, the more than 120 sundials, and one of my favorites, the ruins and reminders of the grand buildings that have disappeared over time.
Dominique Lesbros also wrote the Secretes et Curiosités des Monuments de Paris . This one is all in French but it is a treasure trove of the smallest details of some of the iconic locations in Paris including the Louvre and its many markings left behind by the kings that touched the palace and future museum. Lesbros also wrote Paris Bizzare also in French and includes some of the same things in the other two books but still filled with juicy details.
Unexplored Paris Rodolphe Trouilleux, this goody is filled with things I hadn't seen before. The owl on the building designed by Viollet-le-Duc, the rats on the former home of Sarah Bernhardt and even the original 1806 meridian stone marker where you can start your own Rose Line hunt of the Arago markers.
The cemeteries of Paris are filled with the stories of Paris from long ago complete with an outdoor free museum. A miniature Winged Victory, check, bronze Raft of the Medusa, check and hundreds upon hundreds of busts, statues, and effigies by some of the biggest sculptors in French history. I love to spend at least one full day walking the uneven maze of paths that wind through Père-Lachaise armed with my never-ending list of tombs to find. Two fantastic books for the tombstone tourist include all of the large cemeteries of Paris and highlight the notable folks that spend eternity there along with some you may not know. Permanent Parisians by Judi Culbertson & Tom Randall and Stories in Stone by Douglas Keister.
Another favorite is the small book Angels of Paris by my friend Rosemary Flannery. With beautiful photos and stories she shares more than 70 angels on the facades and in the statues of Paris you may have overlooked. When we met she told me she wrote a book about angels and I said “is it Angels is Paris, I love that book”. It’s a must for any Paris library.
Speaking of the beautiful things in Paris, these next books are about the art of Paris, the temples of art and the artists that left a mark for the generations to come. If you love the Impressionists then you will want to read The Judgement of Pari: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism by Ross King. I couldn’t stop reading this book, filled with the stories of Manet and the most popular artists of the time that is now completely forgotten Ernest Meissonier. The tales of the Salon and the exclusion of the yet to be named Impressionists and how they formed their own exhibition is fascinating. And you will become obsessed with Manet after this book.
We know the names of so many of the artists, but the models are still widely unappreciated. More than just a pretty face these women would have to hold a pose for hours on end in small studios. One woman, Suzanne Valadon, while standing for hours a day for Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Modigliani also soaked up their techniques and movements and each night would take to her own canvas. Renoir’s Dancer: The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon by Catherine Hewitt tells the fascinating story of this struggling and at times tragic artist. She is also the subject of the new La Vie Creative podcast I am doing with Krystal Kenny.
Art for Travellers France by Bill & Lorna Hannan is a somewhat unknown book but a real gem. Not only does it have some pretty in depth info on the art in the museums, but it is broken up by time period. Starting with the Middle Ages, the details on Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle and Saint Denis can rival any book I have ever seen. Details on the artists and paintings of the Impressionist and post Impressionist are fantastic. You won’t even find these kinds of details in the info the Musée d’Orsay or the Louvre.