Marcel leaves Swann’s story and returns to narrating his life. He is an adult but still suffers from the insomnia that plagued him as a child. As he lies in the darkness, he recalls the bedrooms of his earlier life. He remembers a trip to Balbec inspired by his friend Legrandin praising the French town. Legrandin praises the geography, the weather, and the architecture of Balbec for being unique.

Marcel remembers his youth in Paris. As a schoolboy, he wanted to travel to places like Balbec and Venice. To this day, he only needs to say the names of these places to be transported to them in his mind. His father agreed to send him to Italy, allowing him to visit Venice and Florence. Just as Marcel is beginning to feel excited, however, he is struck down by a fever so severe that the doctor forbids him from traveling for at least a year. Instead, Marcel walks through Paris with Françoise the maid. They walk through the Champs-Elysée park, where they run into Gilberte, the daughter of Odette and Swann. From then on, Marcel’s life begins revolving around Gilberte’s beauty. He obsesses over her, searching for her every day in the same park.