Hey you guys!

I have had such a blast these few months here in Paris. I’ve been back and forth from Sydney to Paris since January 2007 now… and you guys know I’ve been performing a tonne. The audiences are just so welcoming! I have LOVED walking absolutely everywhere with my violin… exploring this beautiful city. I’ve been writing a load of music as well, in this dreamy state. I don’t even need to share my favorite places, I’m sure those of you who have been to Paris know the typical places, and they’ve weaved their magic on me just like everyone else. I have to share however, that my experiences might just be the romantic musician in me, because a friend from school came to stay and all she could see was the dirt and the streets where dog owners don’t pick up after their dogs! We all see something different don’t we!

Paris has a way of finding its way back into my touring life again and again, and every time I land there I end up gravitating toward the same handful of places. Here are the spots that keep pulling me back — some for the beauty, some for the history, and a couple simply because they’re impossible not to love.

Galeries Lafayette

There’s nothing quite like standing under that stained-glass dome at Galeries Lafayette. It’s less a department store and more a piece of Belle Époque architecture that happens to sell beautiful things. I love wandering it with fellow performers between rehearsals — there’s something about browsing Paris’s most glamorous shopping floors with people who also spend their lives on stage that makes the whole experience feel a little more theatrical.

Monet’s Gardens

A short trip out to Giverny to see Monet’s gardens is always worth the detour. Walking the lily ponds and the Japanese bridge that inspired some of his most famous paintings is one of those rare moments where a place looks exactly like the art it created — the water lilies, the willows, all of it. It’s quiet in a way that Paris itself rarely is, and I find it resets me before a run of performances.

Montmartre

Montmartre is where I go for the atmosphere as much as the view. Winding up the hill past the artists in Place du Tertre, with Sacré-Cœur watching over the whole city, it’s easy to see why it’s drawn musicians and painters for well over a century. There’s a creative energy in those streets that feels like it belongs to performers as much as it does to painters.

Palais Royal

The Palais Royal is my favorite kind of Parisian secret — tucked just behind the busier streets, with its arcaded gardens and Buren’s striped columns in the courtyard. It’s elegant without trying too hard, and it’s the place I go when I want a quiet walk that still feels unmistakably Paris.

Disneyland Paris

And then there’s Disneyland Paris — proof that not every favorite spot needs to be sophisticated. After days of galleries and gardens, there’s something wonderful about letting go completely for an afternoon of pure joy and nostalgia. It’s become a bit of a tradition of mine, and honestly, one of my favorite ways to end a Paris trip.

Paris keeps giving me new reasons to come back, but these five spots are the ones that never miss.

Sophie XO