Some places stay with us long after we leave them.
For Soulivity founder Brian Westley Johnson, Paris is one of those places. What began as a journey abroad became something deeper: a relationship with a city whose beauty, history, rhythm, and sense of possibility created a lasting emotional connection.
In this edition of Soul Stories, Brian reflects on why Paris became his favorite place abroad, the experiences that made the city meaningful to him, and the places and moments that transformed a visit into something far more personal.
This is not simply a story about where to go in Paris. It is about what can happen when a place reaches something within us—when travel becomes memory, discovery becomes connection, and a destination becomes part of our own story.
Paris has long inspired travelers through its architecture, art, neighborhoods, food, history, and unmistakable sense of place. But the cities that affect us most deeply are rarely defined only by their landmarks.
Sometimes it is the feeling of walking a street for the first time. A quiet moment at a café. The view across the Seine. The discovery of a neighborhood you hadn’t planned to explore. Or simply the realization that you feel different while you are there.
In this Soul Story, Brian shares the experiences that made Paris a soulful destination for him—from his earliest connection with the city to the places and experiences that continue to draw him back.
Watch the Soul Story below.
The most meaningful travel experiences often give us more than photographs or places checked off an itinerary.
They can awaken curiosity.
They can expand our understanding of what life might look like.
They can introduce us to new ways of living, seeing, eating, creating, connecting, and simply being.
And occasionally, a place resonates so strongly that returning feels less like visiting and more like coming back to something familiar.
That is part of what makes Paris enduring for so many people—and what made it such an important part of Brian’s own travel story.
If Paris is calling you—or calling you back—the official Paris je t’aime Tourist Office offers current information on neighborhoods, museums, cultural experiences, exhibitions, transportation, Seine cruises, and other ways to experience the city.
But perhaps the best way to discover Paris is to leave a little room in the itinerary.
Walk without rushing.
Sit at the café a little longer.
Cross the bridge you hadn’t planned to cross.
Turn down the street that catches your attention.
Because sometimes the most memorable part of travel is not simply seeing a new place.
It is discovering what that place brings alive in you.
Travel can be more than escape.
At its best, it can remind us that the world is larger than the routines we know—and that we may be larger than the version of ourselves we brought with us.
Some destinations give us memories.
Others give us a new way of seeing.
And every once in a while, a place speaks directly to the soul.