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see, architecture to admire, and cafés to linger at. As I noted in the introduction, the more you plan, the more free time you have, and walking tours give you just that. Sometimes, a plan to just amble along the rues is structure enough, as François Baudot, in the introduction to Paris (Assouline, 2004), wisely notes: “You drift in Venice, you meander in Rome, you wander in Madrid. In New York, you go from point A to point B. You often get lost in Tokyo. You always find your way in Marrakesh. In London, you catch a taxi; in Seville, a sunstroke. But only in Paris do you stroll.” Along with Thirza Vallois’s trio of Around and About Paris, the following are my favorite walking tour books. I continue to use these even though I know exactly what I will encounter and where I will end up.

Impressionist Paris: The Essential Guide to the City of Light, Julian More (Pavilion, 1999). This illustrated hardcover isn’t particularly hard to pack, but it’s a little hard to conceive of carrying it around while walking, as it’s thick and heavy. I recommend making photocopies of the pages you want to bring along. It is a very good and interesting (if not quite “essential”) guide, and More, who has lived in France for many years, is also the author of some of my favorite books, including Views from a French Farmhouse. In eight chapters, More proposes walks and drives within Paris proper as well as in Fontainebleau, Giverny, and along the Seine and Oise rivers. Each is more of a “contemplative ramble” than a heavy hike or tour, “to be taken at your own speed and leisure.” Visits outside Paris can be done within a day, and walks are full-day or half-day adventures. More describes his book as being “mainly about looking. Looking at paintings, looking at town and country, absorbing a distinct atmosphere that still exists.”

The Impressionists’ Paris: Walking Tours of the Artists’ Studios, Homes, and the Sites They Painted, Ellen Williams (Little Bookroom, 1997). With twenty color reproductions of artworks, period café and restaurant recommendations, maps, and vintage photographs, this great little (about 5 × 7 inches) hardcover features the works of Manet, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Bazille, and Caillebotte. (Pissarro, whose Parisian street scenes seem to beg inclusion, is left out since, as Williams notes in the afterword, he didn’t begin painting his grands boulevards canvases until the 1880s, whereas this book focuses on the 1860s and 1870s.) I’ve used this book (and the Picasso one below) several times, following each route to the letter, and I continue to be amazed at how many sites depicted in the paintings remain the same. The author’s recommendations for cafés and restaurants have all turned out to be memorable spots.

A Paris Walking Guide: 20 Charming Strolls through the Streets, Courtyards, and Gardens of Paris, translated by David Cox (Parigramme, 2009). This is a more compact edition of Parigramme’s twenty-volume guide to the arrondissements of Paris, the Guides du Promeneur, and it is a must-have book, but only available in France. I bought it in Paris and saw it in many bookstores and museum shops there. There are two guiding premises for the series: “We never see—or only poorly see—things that have not been pointed out” and “Seeing and learning changes our lives.” There is much in this edition that does not appear in any other English-language guidebook, and the walks are terrific.

Pariswalks, Sonia, Alison, and Rebecca Landes (Henry Holt, 2005, sixth edition). The Walks series has been a favorite of mine since it first appeared in 1981, originating with the Paris guide. This edition features walks through five of the oldest neighborhoods of Paris: Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, La Huchette, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Mouffetard, and Place des Vosges. Each walk is about two and a half hours, and after each one you’ll be “a friend and possessor of the quartier forever.” I share the authors’ enthusiasm for getting to know a part of the city intimately, what they call “close-up tourism.” Two useful tips: morning walks are recommended because