AOL Travel

Paris Pop Culture

Music, books and movies play a big part in portraying romantic notions of Paris (or is it that because it's such a romantic city that so much music, so many books and so many movies feature the city?).

From American crooners à la Frank Sinatra to Parisian chansonniers like Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour, legendary tunes endure alongside current performers of styles ranging from classical to rock, electro and rap. To hear what's currently on Paris’s airwaves, tune in to local radio stations online.

Literary classics such as Hemingway's memoir "A Moveable Feast" and French epics like Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables" endure on bookshelves alongside contemporary fare from Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" to Muriel Barbery's social satire "The Elegance of the Hedgehog."

And national and international directors have immortalized the city on screen: "Last Tango in Paris," "The Bourne Identity," "Before Sunset" and "Paris, je t'aime" (Paris, I love you), an anthology of 18 short films each set in a different “arrondissement,” are just some that showcase the city. If you had to pick one love letter to Paris of recent times though, it would have to be the surprise smash-hit, "Amélie," serving up a visual Parisian feast on the big screen, with a quintessentially romantic Parisian soundtrack. Look out too for Woody Allen's upcoming movie "Midnight in Paris," with a cameo by the French president's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, which is currently shooting in Paris.