Few words capture the spirit of Paris as completely as flâneur. It is often translated simply as “stroller” or “wanderer”, but neither definition quite does it justice. To be a flâneur is not merely to walk; it is to observe, reflect and absorb the life of the city without rushing towards a destination.

Curiously, I had been practising this approach long before I knew the word itself. During my earliest visits to Paris, I found myself slowing down naturally. Instead of planning every minute, I wandered neighbourhoods, paused on benches, watched people in cafés and allowed the city to unfold around me. Years later, I realised that this instinctive way of exploring had a rich literary history, one closely associated with the poet Charles Baudelaire.

In this episode of Coffee Pot Conversations, I trace the origins of the flâneur through Baudelaire’s remarkable life. We follow him from the Latin Quarter to the boulevards transformed by Baron Haussmann, examine his influential works Les Fleurs du Mal and The Painter of Modern Life, and discover why he believed modern beauty could be found in ordinary streets, fleeting encounters and everyday urban life.

Along the way, we also explore Baudelaire’s relationship with Edgar Allan Poe, his thoughts on art, modernity and observation, and the lasting influence he continues to have on writers, artists and anyone who chooses to experience Paris at walking pace.

If you’ve ever found yourself slowing down simply to watch Paris breathe, you’ve already begun to understand what it means to be a flâneur.

Although Charles Baudelaire is buried in the family vault at Montparnasse Cemetery, many admirers choose to pay their respects not only there but also at the separate cenotaph erected in 1902 after readers complained that his grave gave greater prominence to his stepfather, General Jacques Aupick. Today, the cenotaph is often decorated with flowers, handwritten notes and quotations from Les Fleurs du Mal, quietly illustrating how a poet once criticised by the authorities eventually became one of France’s most revered literary figures.