I’ll be honest with you — I was a little smug about Paris before I went. I’d read the books, seen the films, heard the stories. I thought I had the city figured out before I’d even packed a bag. Then I stepped off the Eurostar at Gare du Nord

France is one of those countries that somehow manages to exceed expectations every single time you visit — and I say that as someone who has been many, many times and still finds themselves utterly surprised around every corner. It’s easy to think of France as just Paris. Paris is