Skip to main content

Daily Inspiration Quote by Audrey Hepburn

"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.

Quote Details

TopicWanderlust
SourceCommonly attributed to Audrey Hepburn; listed on her Wikiquote page and often credited as a line from the film Sabrina (1954).
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Hepburn, Audrey. (2026, January 18). Paris is always a good idea. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/paris-is-always-a-good-idea-4438/

Chicago Style
Hepburn, Audrey. "Paris is always a good idea." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/paris-is-always-a-good-idea-4438/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Paris is always a good idea." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/paris-is-always-a-good-idea-4438/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Audrey Add to List
Paris Is Always a Good Idea - Audrey Hepburn
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn (May 4, 1929 - January 20, 1993) was a Actress from Belgium.

34 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Babe Ruth, Athlete
Babe Ruth
Francis I of France, Royalty
Francis I of France
Thomas Gold Appleton, Critic