If you're planning a trip to Paris this summer or if you just enjoy discovering a city through its stories, The Streets of Paris is without a doubt, a book recommendation you can't miss. Through this book, you'll be able to explore the City of Light in a very unique and special way.

The author of The Streets of Paris, Susan Cahill, shows us the magic of Paris through the eyes and stories of 22 famous Parisians that lived and worked in this seductive city throughout the last 800 years.

Among the 22 stories you'll find in this book, there’s the one about Louis IX and how he conceived the idea of the Sainte-Chapelle, there’s also the story of Henry IV but told from the Pont Neuf’s point of view; a bridge built by the most beloved king of France and there’s also the scandalous love story of Hèloise and Abelard. It also has fun tales like the story of why students and teachers from Le Sorbonne rub the bronze feet of Montaigne's statue on the Rue de Ècoles, as well as descriptions of the streets where Voltaire was born and raised, among other interesting facts.

My favorite chapter talks about the sculptor and painter Giacometti and his years in Paris at the beginning of his career as a student of Rodin's assistant. Susan Cahill tells us the story of how Paris' artistic boom placed Giacometti's sculptures and paintings in museums like The Louvre and the Modern Art Museum in Paris after the artist had endless existentialist discussions about his skeletal sculptures with his dear friend Sartre at the melancholic cafés of Saint-Germain.

Each chapter includes additional information for the traveler such as exact directions of how to get to those sites, nearby recommendations, as well as present-day photos of the places described in the stories captured by the lens of photographer Marion Ranoux.

So now you know, if you want to discover Paris through interesting stories, fun tales, and incredible photographs, this book is for you.

Thanks so much to New York’s publisher St. Martin's Press for sending me this beautiful book.

You can find this book and other Susan Cahill's publications for Amazon Kindle or at bookstores like Barnes and Noble.  

*Ad - The book was sent to me as a gift by St. Martin's Press, all opinions are my own.