I love to armchair travel through books. It can get you ready for a trip or keep you mentally holding on to that vacation state of mind. Ever since planning our first family vacation to Europe last year, I’ve been on the hunt for and reading books set in France. It had been 25 years between my visits to Paris. I first went with my sister in 1999, so it was extra awesome returning just before the Olympics in June of 2024, this time as a mom of three teens and getting to see this beautiful place for the first time through their eyes. I liked Paris enough when I went the first time, but this visit I truly fell in love with the light and everything else. Needless to say, I’ve wanted to return mentally as often as possible ever since getting back home last summer. If you also are feeling like a Francophile these days (or just want to escape to France virtually through stories), here’s eleven great books I’ve read and loved set in France. Plus a list of some bonus books I’ve put on my France TBR list but haven’t gotten around to reading.
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl (modern historical fiction, ie not WW2-related)
I started reading this one on the flight over to Paris and finished it on the flight back. I figured I’d read it at night there, but ended up sleeping so good exhausted by our full days of fun. I’d rec reading this one before you get there to get a fuller appreciation for places like the famed bookstore Shakespeare and Company. Plus it’s just a good read.
Mastering the Art of French Murder & A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge (mystery)
These are set just after WW2 in Paris. They are foodie-centric with Julia Childs being the main side character, best friends with the narrator main character, a strong & independent Detroiter woman who finds herself investigating murders. I’ve done these as a combo of audio and ebooks and enjoy both. There’s a new 3rd one in this series too but I haven’t read it – yet. (It’s on my TBR list tho!) I’ve learned so many interesting historical, cool things about Paris like mushrooms in the underground, Coca Cola’s American push to be the new wine of France and more. The author is a University of Michigan double alum and lives here (even runs a bookclub at the local bookstore). I’m going to see if she can come talk to my travel writing class because she does such a great job of blending story and place with truly likable characters!
The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs by Elaine Sciolino (nonfiction)
This is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. It really brought Paris alive for me. I bought it in Paris on my way to the Louvre at the oldest English bookstore on the continent. I went looking for it because I read the preview on the plane there and knew I wanted it. Highly recommend this one to keep you immersed and appreciative of all the things there are to love about Paris. I went and bought all of Sciolinos books after this one (and even attended one of her live book talks on Zoom). And while this one is still my fav, you’ll see her two other France-set books on this list below too. I rec them all to help you appreciate everything French.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (mystery)
All Lucy Foley fans should read this one. It’s not as Paris-immersed as some of the other books on this list but it’s a great read.
The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle (thriller/mystery)
This book just came out last summer but I didn’t hear of it until this summer. It’s a classic thriller plot with some good twists and turns. I don’t want to give any spoilers so that’s all I’ll say. A solid beach read.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (historical fiction)
I find there are far, far too many books set in France during World War Two. Obvious as to why, but I can only handle so much Nazi without to-real anxiety creeping in. But one of my bookclubs picked this so I gave it a go. The writing and characters are really good. Some people in the book club read it multiple times as both audio and regular because they loved it so much. Gives a great view of Paris and countryside during the wartimes and sheds a good light into why the French book market is saturated in WW2 era reads.
Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum by Elaine Sciolino (nonfiction)
As I said a few books up, Sciolino is a great writer. Of course she is, she’s been a journalist for the New York Times forever. She knows how to captivate a reader with her keen insights and love of place. She’s a true American in Paris, having raised her kids there. She’s living the dream and her passion for the Louvre comes through in this book. Great read any time, but I’d rec to read it before you go so you can appreciate the Louvre even more while you’re there. Also, the chapter on Beyonce’s music video shot there introduced me to a fab song that I had somehow missed and does not get enough airplay! I even sent a copy of her chapter on a secret Louvre viewing option to my friends who moved to France and are Louvre members and had no idea about many of the things I learned in this book. A must-read!
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris by Glynnis MacNicol (memoir, nonfiction, humor)
MacNichol is delightful. As a woman who shares her basic age and even birthday month, I related closely to this book, though I’ve never had a sexual awakening via dating apps anywhere, much less across Paris. But I loved her insights and takes. The book is as humorous as it is true and deep. It captures modern women spirit, while also bringing up lots of things to think about. The section on how bicycles liberated women and gave them freedom to go out on their own and changed fashion/how women dress was extra fabulous.
The Seine: The River that Made Paris by Elaine Sciolino (nonfiction)
Yup, here’s Sciolino’s third book on this list, though this was the second she wrote based in France. I learned so much from this book and found it so fascinating. It traces this important river in all the ways – culturally, historically, artistically and geographically. The part about the ancient worship at the river’s spring is probably my favorite. But I also loved how it felt like a travel guide of all the other places I need to go in France that I’d never heard of or thought to even think of going.
Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay (romance)
You’d think there’d be more romance books on this list. There’s always at least a touch of the romantic in everything with Parisienne, but this is probably the best rom-com-esque I’ve read based there. The thing is, lots of romances are set in France, but they don’t really have France as an intregal setting or character. They could, in many ways, be set anywhere and Paris becomes the background only. But this one has enough of Paris to fit the bill here. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars and recommend.
All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (mystery)
This is one of the great books in the beloved Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series. All the rest are set in the French-speaking parts of Canada, mostly in and around Montreal, Quebec. But this one takes Gamache to his family roots in Paris. It ties modern France to war-time France with all the greatness of Penny’s writing. I love this series as audiobook because the narrator Robert Bathurst has the most comforting voice possible. But I’ve read the series in all of the formats. You don’t need to have read anything else in the series to enjoy this one and you’ll get a great feel for modern Paris with a bit of its French ties to North America all wrapped in a great who-done-it.
As a bonus to round up to an even dozen, I’ll also add Diane Johnson’s Into a Paris Quartier to my list. This one is a pretty good nonfiction book exploring a lovely Parisienne neighborhood (aka quartier): St.-Germain-des-Prés. I stayed here on my trip in 2024 and LOVED it so much. My friends who moved to France have made this area their home-away-from-home when they vacation to the city too. This book does a nice job with the history and letting you wonder through the streets of the 6th arrondissement. You truly appreciate this special place known for its artistic and literary history, along with famous cafes like Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots. She’s an American that also lives in Paris part time and she’s written several fictional books set there too, which she’s more famous for (see TBR list below).
On my France TBR list:
I was fascinated by the impressionists special exhibit I saw at the Musee d’ Orsay, so immediately bought several books about the lives of these painters upon returning home. Among them:
- The Private Lives of the Impressionists by Sue Roe. The book’s description says it all, “The first book to offer an intimate and lively biography of the world’s most popular group of artists, including Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Berthe Morisot, and Mary Cassatt.” Had to buy it and put it on the TBR shelf before I go back!
- The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Provence by Martin Gayford, about the yellow house Paul Gauguin shared with Vincent van Gogh in 1888 in the South of France.
As noted above, Diane Johnson is known more for her Paris-based fiction vs nonfiction, so after reading her Into a Paris Quartier, I bought Le Divorce and put her Le Marriage and Le Affaire on the TBR list too.
When I was in Lisbon at their international book fair (yes!! it was cool!!), I picked up a new mystery paperback The Perfect Place by Amanda Cassidy. This one is set in both London and France. Its description reads it promises to be, “Escape to the Chateau [a BBC series] meets The Paris Apartment in this twisty, unputdownable crime thriller.”
As always, happy to give more book recs and tell you more about these books or others. Just leave a comment below.
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If you’ve got a rec for me to read and maybe include here, let us know by leaving a comment below! You can also read my thoughts on these books and others on Goodreads.
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