What exactly is a flâneur?

It's one of those French words that appears everywhere when people talk about Paris, yet few stop to explain where it came from or why it still matters today.

In this episode of Coffee Pot Conversations, I explore the origins of the flâneur through the extraordinary life and writings of Charles Baudelaire, the nineteenth-century poet whose observations of everyday Paris transformed the way artists, writers and travellers viewed the modern city.

Along the way, we uncover Baudelaire's complicated life, his fascination with the changing streets of Haussmann's Paris, his relationship with Edgar Allan Poe, the publication of Les Fleurs du Mal and how simply walking through Paris became an artistic act.

Whether you've heard the word flâneur a hundred times or are discovering it for the first time, this episode explores why wandering without purpose may be one of the best ways to experience Paris.

In this episode

• What is a flâneur?

• What does flâner actually mean?

• My own discovery of slow walking in Paris

• Charles Baudelaire's childhood

• Baudelaire's life in the Latin Quarter

• Hashish, cafés and nineteenth-century intellectual Paris

• Les Fleurs du Mal

• The Painter of Modern Life

• The birth of modernity

• Edgar Allan Poe and Baudelaire

• Haussmann's Paris through a poet's eyes

• Baudelaire's final years and burial in Montparnasse Cemetery

• Visiting Baudelaire's grave today

Perfect for listeners interested in

Charles Baudelaire • Flâneur • Paris history • French literature • Paris walking tours • Hidden Paris • Haussmann • Edgar Allan Poe • French poetry • Literary Paris • Montparnasse Cemetery • Creative writing • Coffee Pot Conversations

☕ Coffee Pot Conversations explores the hidden history, literature and everyday life of Paris through storytelling, personal experiences and carefully researched history.

Rather than simply visiting famous landmarks, each episode invites you to understand the people, ideas and places that shaped the City of Light.

Introduction (00:24)

News (02:42)

Outside Broadcast (13:46)

Coffee Pot Conversation (16:07)

Conclusion (42:20)

Coming Up (44:30)

Outro (45:02)