With so many books praising the elegance and beauty, and depicting the rich culture and history of Paris, a trip to the capital of France is just one page turn away.
Last updated: December 24, 2025
Paris through the Pages of the Books
A dream city. The City of love. One of the leading fashion capitals of the world. A place where French style and elegance originated. Audrey Hepburn said what we all have been thinking, “Paris is always a good idea.”
There is something about Paris that makes you feel free and unapologetically yourself. It’s a city that channels your inner Chanel and inspires you to go a little bit over the top.
Songs have been written about the iconic sites of one of the most beloved European cities. Entire books are devoted to Paris, starting from food books featuring favorite Parisian delicacies to guides to the city’s legendary landmarks and love letters to the birthplace of grace, beauty, and elegance.
One of my all-time favorite classics that I had first read in middle school is The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The book is set entirely in Paris and depicts some of the city’s most iconic landmarks that I was able to see and climb years later.
Paris is a good idea, indeed. It’s a place you absolutely must see whether in person or take a pleasant tour through reading. The books outlined below are your virtual guides to Paris, its world-famous attractions, charming streets, and cozy cafes. If you’ve been to the French capital before, these reads will remind you of all the special moments you spent in Paris and may even inspire you to plan a new trip.
BOOKS TO READ BEFORE TRAVELING TO PARIS
1. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
A fiction book set in 1482 Paris by Victor Hugo
The infamous hunchback named Quasimodo is a deaf bell-ringer at the imposing Notre-Dame de Paris. With the look that scares kids and invites a lot of ridicule, Quasimodo feels content working out of people’s sight.
The hunchback’s world changes with little kindness from Esmeralda, a young Romani dancer. The beauty of the girl, however, stirs lust in some filthy people, leading to Esmeralda’s false accusation of murder. With the help of Quasimodo, the girl barely escapes execution. The hunchback takes her to the only safe place he knows, the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Buy: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
2. Paris Letters
One woman’s journey from the fast lane to a slow stroll in Paris by Janice MacLeod
On the verge of burnout, Janice saves up to buy herself a two-year trip to Europe. A few days into her stop in Paris, the author meets a handsome butcher, Christophe. Despite their language barrier, the couple embarks on a whirlwind Paris romance.
Suddenly, Janice realizes that she can’t return to your previous life and exhausting office job. The young woman turns to her three loves – words, art, and her man – to find a way to make her Paris life last forever.
Paris Letters is a memoir written in such a flowing style that it feels like a novel, a book you can’t put down.
3. Last Christmas in Paris
A historical fiction book that revolves around an imaginary evening in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Paris is hardly a place many call home, let alone want to visit now when the world is buried under the ruins of devastation brought by World War I.
Evie Elliott and her family know the loss of the war firsthand. Their beloved brother and son, Will, was killed as the war raged for years. The optimistic prediction of the battles to be over by Christmas had long vanished. Will’s best childhood friend, Thomas Harding, continues to support the family through his occasional visits and encouraging letters to Evie.
Through their correspondence, the two navigate the horrors of the war and dream of the perfect Christmas in Paris when the war ends. As the childhood friends share their hopes and fears, the relationship evolves into love.
Last Christmas in Paris is a beautiful story of perseverance, courage, and struggles that descended upon Europe during the war time.
4. Be Ready When the Luck Happens
A memoir that takes you to the East Coast of U.S., Asia, and Paris by Ina Carter
The book Be Ready When the Luck Happens is anything, but a travel guide to Paris. Its author, the favorite American TV host and chef, tells about her journey from a government employee in the White House in Washington, D.C., to an owner of a specialty food store in New York, and finally a proud homeowner of a cozy apartment in Paris.
Ina and her husband traveled across Europe, including France, in their twenties. They fell in love with the region, its diverse cuisines that focus on incorporating fresh seasonal produce, and Paris, where many dinner parties have been held and some sections of the book were written. The memoir invites you to explore the French capital with Ina Carter, an American that feels at home in Paris.
5. Bringing Up Bébé
A book about one American mother raising a child in Paris by Pamela Druckerman
When a former The Wall Street Journal reporter Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she sets out on a journey to uncover the wisdom of French parenting. The French may not be perceived as the most caring parents, but their children somehow surpass their American counterparts. It goes far beyond sleeping on their own at a very young age, eating a gourmet meal without throwing tantrums, and overall behaving their best while still keeping their curious and creative personalities alive.
Bringing Up Bébé is a funny and insightful book about parenting in Paris. It’s not a how-to guide or a collection of strict rules, but rather an honest account and your permission to stop struggling to be that perfect parent.
6. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
A children’s book about an orphan boy living in Paris by Brian Selznick
An orphan boy named Hugo lives secretly in a Paris train station in the 1930s. The boy’s time is decided between maintaining the station’s clocks and trying to repair a broken mechanical man (automaton) left by his father. Hugo believes the automaton holds a message from his father.
The boy is determined to uncover the secret and nothing can hold him back. Nothing, including stealing some parts necessary for the repair of the mechanical man from an old toy-shop owner. The work on his father’s automaton leads to revealing the secrets of the early cinema, finding new friends and eventually a new family.
The book The Invention of Hugo Cabret is more than just a depiction of Paris in the early 20th century. It’s an engrossing story blended with original black-and-white illustrations that advance the narrative.
7. A Bakery in Paris
A historical fiction book that takes you to Paris of two different eras by Aimie K. Runyan
One bakery. Two different women. Both couldn’t be more different and similar. Never truly fitting into the life that her rich upbringing bestowed on her, Lisette gives up her luxurious existence for love and compassion for the regular people of Paris. When the Prussians threaten to attack the city, Lisette opens a small bakery in Montmartre. Making bread and feeding the neighborhood is Lisette’s way of fighting the enemy and later supporting the people of Paris during the rebellion.
Fast forward to the post-World War II time. Micheline is a nineteen-year-old girl who doesn’t have the luxury to mourn her deceased father and missing mother. With both of her parents gone, Micheline takes on the responsibility of raising two younger sisters. A good-hearted neighbor enrolls the girl into a prestigious baking academy. The more Micheline practices the art of baking, the more she learns about herself, her ancestors, and eventually solves the mystery behind the disappearance of her mother.
Buy: A Bakery in Paris
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