8 Best Books Set In Paris, The City Of Love

One of the last trips I took in the “Before Times” was to Paris with a group of friends. It’s kind of cliché to say that it is a romantic city, but something about the lights and the boat rides on the river and the delicious little cakes really do make it feel like something special. We are all stuck at home this Valentine’s Day, of course, but that does mean there is plenty of time to pick up one of these books set in Paris, the City Of Love. Treat yourself to some macaroons too and you’ll be practically there.

1. One Evening In Paris – Nicolas Barreau

One Evening In Paris is the one for you if you love all things classic cinema. Alain Bonnard, owner of Cinéma Paradis doesn’t do big blockbusters or giant tubs of popcorn. His cinema is small and traditional, and he likes it that way.

He’s also enchanted with a woman who appears every Wednesday, dressed in a red coat. He’s just asked her out for dinner when he finds out that a big Hollywood director wants to film his latest work in Alain’s cinema. While he’s busy dealing with the new-found attention, the woman in the coat disappears, and Alain is determined to find her. This is a charming book about destiny.

2. Fromage à Trois – Victoria Brownlee

Did this book originally attract my attention because of the title? Absolutely. Who doesn’t love a good cheese pun, after all? But apart from that, it is a seriously cute book that shows a real passion on the author’s part for Paris and all things French.

Ella, after a horrible break up, buys a one-way ticket to Paris, falls in with Serge who challenges her to try 365 different cheeses over the year, and Gaston, a food critic. Fromage à Trois is a wholesome romance novel about starting again and taking risks – and about eating cheese. Obviously.

3. The Girl Who Reads On The Métro – Christine Féret-Fleury

The Girl Who Reads On The Métro is a bit of a fairytale, a bit of a coming of age story and a bit of a book lover’s dream. It’s about falling in love with yourself, and giving yourself a chance to start again. Juliette has a steady but unfulfilling job and a whole lot of existential angst. The only part of her life she enjoys is making up stories about the people she sees on the Métro.

One day she meets Soliman, who turns her into a passeur, someone who takes books from his shop and pairs them up with readers out in the wilds of Paris. This is a beautifully written book, with prose you will want to linger over; shout-out to Ros Schwartz, the translator, who brought Féret-Fleury’s words to us English readers.

4. A Week In Paris – Rachel Hore

A historical novel set in the dual timelines of 1937 and 1961, the spectre of the Second World War hangs over the whole story. In 1961, Fay Knox – who can’t remember her father, killed in a London air-raid – goes to Paris with her orchestra and finds that there might be something her mother isn’t telling her. Namely, that Fay actually spent the war in Paris.

In 1937, Fay’s father Eugene and mother Kitty meet and fall in love in a Paris that is soon to be occupied by Germany. A Week In Paris sounds intriguing, notably in the 1961 storyline as Fay tries to find out the truth about her life, and her parent’s romance seems like it has the potential for heartbreak.

5. Someday In Paris – Olivia Lara

Another historical novel now, fresh from publication last year. If you like your love stories with a dose of soul mates and destiny, then Someday In Paris is definitely the Valentine’s Day read for you.

After meeting in museum aged fifteen – in the middle of a power cut – Zara and Leon know that they’re meant for each other. But they’ve never even seen each other’s faces – it was a blackout, after all. After twenty years of near misses, they are despairing of ever finding one another – until a chance meeting in a gallery in Paris. If you are a hopeless romantic, you will adore Someday In Paris.

6. P.S From Paris – Marc Levy

In modern day Paris, two lonely ex-pats are drawn together in the City Of Love. Mia, a famous actress who is hiding out in Paris, working as a waitress in her friend’s restaurant. She gets set up with Paul, a novelist who is trying to recapture the magic of his earlier work, after his friend hooks him up with online dating.

Mia and Paul try to resist their growing attraction and stay friends – Mia is still technically married even if her husband is cheating on her – but Paris has other ideas. Fans love this romantic comedy, so if you’re looking for a light read, check it out.

7. The Paris Novel – Anthony McDonald

Anthony McDonald is a bit of an expert in writing gay love stories, so you’re in safe hands here with The Paris Novel.

Peter, aged 27 and freshly split from his girlfriend, escapes to Paris to write – and maybe find a new love. He isn’t expecting it to be Fabrice, another young man who also identifies as straight. But as they spend time together, something that neither completely understands begins to blossom between them, and they learn that love is more complicated than either of them thought. McDonald’s writing is sharp and clean, and his Paris is bright and alive.

8. Anna And The French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins

There is probably an actual law against making a list like this one and not including Anna And The French Kiss. For good reason too, because it is a completely adorable Young Adult romance.

Anna is unimpressed with being sent to boarding school in Paris for a whole year, until she meets Etienne St Clair, the boy who will change her life. Etienne has a girlfriend, but this is the City of Love, and you don’t need to be a genius to work out what will happen. Anna And The French Kiss is like a big hug of a novel; I dare you to read it and not end up with the biggest, goofiest smile on your face.

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