Must-Read Books Set in Paris

French fashion lovers, rejoice: journalist Kate Betts (who got her start at Women’s Wear Daily in Paris before later working at Vogue and then taking the helm at Harper’s Bazaar) weaves tales of style, love, and glamour in this memoir of her time as a budding 20-something magazine editor in the City on the Seine. By the final page, you might be inspired to exude a little je ne sais quoi yourself.

Speaking of Hemingway’s tumultuous love affairs, this work of historical fiction is the author’s imagined perspective of the relationship between Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. It’s a guilty pleasure set in the Parisian Jazz Age and brimming with deeply romantic moments, heartache, and scandal.

Do not—we repeat—do not read this one on an empty stomach. Renowned chef Julia Child’s memoir was written about her experiences all across France, but some of the best and most sumptuous stories are told in Paris, where she took classes at the Cordon Bleu and discovered her passion for cooking. You won’t be able to turn away from the late chef’s prose as she captures life with her husband, Paul, and her adventures in cooking and teaching French style.