Paris Footprints is for people who enjoy exploring Paris and finding out more about what they see. Here you’ll find the stories behind its streets and buildings, the people connected with them, and the changes that have made the city what it is today.

Knowing a little of that history can change the pleasure of a walk around the city. An unfamiliar detail becomes something you recognise; a street you have passed along many times becomes somewhere worth another look. I’m particularly interested in the connections between the Paris of the past and what you can still see on the ground.

I’m Alannah Moore, a writer originally from London who has lived in Paris for thirty years. My curiosity about the city has grown with the time I’ve spent here. Research often begins with something I’ve noticed while walking, often out with my dog, that leads me into hours of poring over old maps, photographs and accounts of the people who lived here before us. Paris Footprints is where I share what I find.

Some articles follow the history of a street or explore how a neighbourhood developed. Others look more closely at a building, an architectural detail or a person whose life was bound up with a particular place.

Alongside these stories, the Paris Now category brings things up to the present: short, personal notes on restaurants, exhibitions, museums and other places I’ve visited—a good dinner belongs here as well.

Whether you’re getting to know Paris, returning to familiar surroundings or enjoying the city from somewhere else, I hope you’ll find something here that rewards your curiosity—and something to look out for next time you’re walking its streets.

Sign up below to receive new articles and notes from Paris.