Paris walking guides take social media by storm

Paris, Oct 23 (EFE).- Instagram account Le Cahier de Lola is quickly becoming international visitors’ go-to for sourcing information about the French capital.

From the latest food joint, to must-see architectural gems, the Paris city guide has become so popular its author Lola Gea has launched her first publication.

“I started writing on Instagram about what I liked, but I realized that Paris was what interested me the most. People found it very useful, so I decided to write only about this city,” Gea tells Efe on a walk around commercial galleries in downtown Paris.

The blogger regularly dives into second-hand bookstores on the hunt for the most curious books on the history or architecture of Paris, which she avidly collects.

“Some publishers have written to me to write about Paris, I think it’s a very nice project for the showcase but difficult to monetize,” she continues.

So far, Gea has created a series of guides for sale on her website. The latest one is a walk through the works of Art Deco architect Hector Guimard, creator of the iconic Paris metro gateways.

“I do not show a secret Paris, but I do show the one that people do not usually come to see. That is why I enjoy writing these unusual walks more than making great guides, although in the end what people ask for the most are the lists: 22 unusual plans, the “Emily in Paris” tour, what to see if you come for the first time,” the author says.

Despite the success Gea’s blog has garnered, she is intent on keeping her guided walks a “hobby.”

“I work in social networks, I know what’s behind it and I don’t feel like it. I want to be as authentic as possible. I only recommend things that I like, and most of the time I don’t get paid for it,” she confesses.

Her blog is also a good source for people looking to get around the city with young children, something she knows first hand having just become the mother of a one-year-old girl.

She says that the nearly 600 posts on her Instagram page are just the beginning because, as Enrique Vila-Matas wrote, “Everything ends, except Paris, which never ends.”

“I have many saved photos and ideas, so many that sometimes I get overwhelmed,” says Gea. “When you enter the depths of Paris you realize that no life is long enough to learn all the details that this city can offer you.” EFE

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