The Most Beautiful Walk in the World

A Pedestrian in Paris

By: John Baxter

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

Thrust into the unlikely role of professional "literary walking tour" guide, an expat writer provides the most irresistibly witty and revealing tour of Paris in years. In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and long-time Paris resident John Baxter remembers his yearlong experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off with unsuspecting tourists in tow on the trail of Paris' legendary artists and writers of the past.

Along the way, he tells the history of Paris through a brilliant cast of characters: the favorite cafes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce; Pablo Picasso's underground Montmartre haunts; the bustling boulevards of the late-19th-century flâneurs; the secluded "Little Luxembourg" gardens beloved by Gertrude Stein; the alleys where revolutionaries plotted; and finally Baxter's own favorite walk near his home in Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

Paris, by custom and design, is a pedestrian's city - each block a revelation, every neighborhood a new feast for the senses, a place rich with history and romance at every turn. The Most Beautiful Walk in the World is your guide, par excellence, to the true, off-the-beaten-path heart of the City of Lights.

©2011 John Baxter (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A splendid memoir...Reading The Most Beautiful Walk in the World is the next best thing to a Paris vacation." ( Boston Globe)

The historic stories

He is a little full of himself, but fun listening to his stories and detailed observations.

LOVED THIS BOOK !!!!

As an ardent Francophile an audiobook listener, I have listened to dozens of books about the history of Paris, the streets of Paris, the people of Paris. I must say that this book has been thoroughly enjoyable. Listening to the narrator, speak the authors words of many places I have visited and loved in Paris. I could see myself walking along those streets once again. I highly recommend the book.

Annoying Narration

Why does this title have an American narrator when the author repeatedly states that he's from Australia? Also, why can't Audible (or Taintor Audio) find voice actors who can actually pronounce French? Mr. Halstead's French was variable and distracting. In some cases his pronunciation was excellent, but at other times he seemed to confuse the "U" and "OU" sounds." The restaurant La Coupole, for instance, had a few different vowel twists. Some place names were mispronounced (rue d'Assas, rue de Fleurus, Barbès, the latter pronounced "barb" when it should be "barb-ESS"). And of course Les Halles is pronounced "lay-AHL" and not "laze-AHL." I would have enjoyed the chatty, anecdotal content a lot more if the narrator hadn't been so annoying; I also found the narration overly dramatic. Could have done with a lot less Hemingway lore, too. I did enjoy the structure of the essays and the history lessons.

Fun journey through Paris.

Clever and witty, this book will take you on a charming trek through Paris. Nice narration. Worth the time.

Unengaging

The narrator is good, but the stories are just not engaging. Some interesting snippets buried in seemingly random narratives.