There is wonder almost everywhere you look in Paris. On my recent trip to the city of love and light, I decided to go beyond its iconic squares, monuments, buildings, lavish gardens, and walk its wide tree-lined avenues, back streets, and alleys to explore it in non-touristy ways.
As I strolled around its cobbled streets, Paris was revealed to me in all its charm. Each neighborhood — from the Latin Quarter to fashionable Champs-Élysées and rustic, old-world Montmartre — has its distinctive appeal. I stumbled upon hidden surprises like quaint family-run cafes and boutiques and interacted with pleasant Parisians going about their daily lives. Just walking around the streets of Paris filled me with a sense of calm and put me in a meditative state I keep drawing into as I go about my life back home in the US.
