In Paris, love is always in the air. It's not uncommon to see lovers embracing on the quayside, brides and grooms immortalizing their union near the Eiffel Tower and other romantic scenes of everyday Parisian life. It has to be said that the capital has a tenacious reputation in this area: that of being the city of love. But why is Paris considered a romantic city?
Some of the answers can be found in the arts. Paris was one of the great centers of the Romantic style, a vibrant current of emotion that you can immerse yourself in by visiting the Musée de la Vie Romantique. In fiction as in reality, the City of Light has also inspired romance.
FromHeloise and Abelard, the Parisian Romeo & Juliet, Lucile and Camille Desmoulins, Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin, to Jean Marais and Jean Cocteau, the capital's history is intertwined with that of mythical couples who left their mark on their times. In literature, Paris has also been the setting for love stories that have become the stuff of legend. Examples include Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris, which succeeded in saving the famous cathedral, and Gaston Leroux's Fantôme de l'Opéra, now inseparable from the Palais Garnier.
As for the 7th art, cinema has also made the capital shine. With Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Minuit à Paris, À Bout de Souffle and countless romantic comedies in which Paris is evoked as a dream for lovers, the City of Light could hardly escape this tender reputation.
Nor should we forget that Parisians and tourists alike have made Paris the capital of love. There was a time when the Jardin des Tuileries was an ideal place for libertinage, while on the Pont des Arts, it was customary to hang a padlock with initials to symbolize the strength of one's relationship, a tradition that came to an end when the bridge threatened to collapse under the weight of these tokens of love. And let's not forget the romantic and picturesque atmosphere of Montmartre, home to the Mur des Je t' aime and the Passe-Muraille, a sculpture paying homage to Marcel Aymé and his eponymous short story in which love once again enters the scene. As you can see, romance is to be found on almost every street corner in Paris!
