"Paris is always a good idea"
About this Quote
“Paris is always a good idea” works because it pretends to be practical advice while quietly functioning as a spell. Hepburn’s line isn’t selling a city so much as a mood: elegance without effort, romance without risk, reinvention without explaining yourself to anyone. The genius is the word “always.” It bulldozes nuance. Bad weather, bad timing, bad heartbreak, bad politics - doesn’t matter. Paris becomes a standing permission slip to start over.
Coming from Hepburn, the phrase carries extra voltage. She’s not just an actress; she’s a symbol of mid-century polish, the kind of cosmopolitan poise that looks innate even though it’s meticulously performed. Her persona makes Paris feel less like a destination and more like a lifestyle choice: tasteful, curated, lightly melancholic, and somehow still optimistic. The subtext is aspirational but also defensive: when life gets messy, choose the version of yourself who knows what wine to order.
The context matters, too: postwar Europe as an American fantasy and a global brand. By the time Hepburn is mythologized through films like Funny Face and the broader “Hepburn look,” Paris is already being packaged as cultural capital - art, fashion, cafe intelligence. The line flatters the audience into thinking they’re not escaping; they’re upgrading.
It endures because it’s compact, quotable, and just vague enough to fit any crisis. A breakup? Paris. Burnout? Paris. A hunger for beauty that doesn’t ask questions? Paris, always.
Coming from Hepburn, the phrase carries extra voltage. She’s not just an actress; she’s a symbol of mid-century polish, the kind of cosmopolitan poise that looks innate even though it’s meticulously performed. Her persona makes Paris feel less like a destination and more like a lifestyle choice: tasteful, curated, lightly melancholic, and somehow still optimistic. The subtext is aspirational but also defensive: when life gets messy, choose the version of yourself who knows what wine to order.
The context matters, too: postwar Europe as an American fantasy and a global brand. By the time Hepburn is mythologized through films like Funny Face and the broader “Hepburn look,” Paris is already being packaged as cultural capital - art, fashion, cafe intelligence. The line flatters the audience into thinking they’re not escaping; they’re upgrading.
It endures because it’s compact, quotable, and just vague enough to fit any crisis. A breakup? Paris. Burnout? Paris. A hunger for beauty that doesn’t ask questions? Paris, always.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wanderlust |
|---|---|
| Source | Commonly attributed to Audrey Hepburn; listed on her Wikiquote page and often credited as a line from the film Sabrina (1954). |
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