What Paris Taught Me

This was my fifth trip to Paris, but my first one researching a historical fiction novel, which gave my time in the city a very different feel. I was there not as a tourist this time, but as an aspiring author.

Traveling in January, during the low season, allowed me to more fully immerse myself in the rhythm of local life. Without the usual crowds, Paris felt quieter and more accessible. By the end of the week, I felt almost like a local myself.

The Seine at dusk.

This is exactly what I'd hoped for—and needed—for my novel. The city I fell in love with six years ago rose to my expectations once again. More than that, Paris seemed to welcome me back with a generosity I hadn’t anticipated, offering details, insights, and moments I couldn’t have planned for. What surprised me most was how these moments ended up changing the book in meaningful ways.

I stayed in a hotel in the 7th arrondissement, where Nora, the novel’s heroine, lives for much of the story. This allowed me to walk through her world every day during my visit and gain a deeper understanding of her neighborhood. I stayed just a block from the fictional address I had chosen for her apartment. Seeing the street in person made me realize that her building should be next door to the café, rather than above it. That small change felt truer to her first-class standing. It also sparked an unexpected side-story idea—one that allowed me to show the devastation of World War I rather than simply describe it, as I'd originally planned.

A typical street in the 7th Arrondissement.

Before Nora settles into the quieter, residential 7th arrondissement, she spends time in the 8th at the Hôtel de Crillon. I spent time there, walking the surrounding area to understand its character. This is the heart of Paris, just off of the 1st arrondissement. The hotel faces the Place de la Concorde, a fascinating square layered with French history. At its center stands the Luxor Obelisk, a 3,300-year-old monument gifted to France from Egypt. This same square was once the site of the guillotine during the French Revolution, where the heads of kings and queens fell before gathered crowds.

The square is not only rich in history, but in design as well. From here, you can look straight down the Champs-Élysées and see the Arc de Triomphe, walk directly into the Tuileries, or reach the Louvre in minutes. This ceremonial axis was designed as a straight line of power and order and later reinforced under Napoleon. Being in this part of Paris—still standing proud after centuries of upheaval—confirmed that this was exactly the right place for Nora’s introduction to the city.

Place de la Concorde

Paris also helped me better understand Étienne’s world. I walked around his family home in the Latin Quarter and was struck by how close it was to their parish—a church that will play a key role in the story.

I also spent time on the Île de la Cité, searching for the right location for his family’s jewelry atelier. I found it on the Quai aux Fleurs, directly across from the Seine, with the Hôtel de Ville visible across the river and Notre-Dame rising just behind it. It’s a picturesque spot that still displays jewelry in its windows today, giving the location an unmistakable sense of inevitability.

Etienne's atelier sits along the banks of the Seine.

Another place that left an unexpected impression on me was Gare de Lyon. It hadn’t been on my research radar at all. But waiting for our train to Marseille on the second floor of the station, as I watched the colors of a spectacular sunrise unfold all around me, I felt this place was special. After learning more about its history, I realized it was exactly the kind of location that belonged in my novel. It has since become an important goodbye point—a setting charged with transition and the ache of departure.

Gare de Lyon at sunrise

To me, Paris is not just a setting but a leading character in this novel. That’s why it was important for me to visit every location I’m writing about. I didn’t initially intend for my debut novel to be set in the city that has my heart; I wasn’t sure I was ready to do it justice. But I’ve learned that sometimes a story tells us what it wants. And this one wanted Paris.

My hope is to write a novel that captures Paris not simply as a backdrop, but as the historic, resilient, and beautiful city that she is. I also hope to offer readers a glimpse of the devastation Paris endured during World War I—a chapter of history that is often overshadowed by what came later, but no less real, and no less deserving of remembrance.

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