The Newcastle United legend revealed he was in the same area of the city having a meal just 24 hours before the drama unfolded on Friday.
Writing in his column for The Sun, Shearer said: “I was watching the England game on Friday night in a pub in Newcastle when the horrific news started to filter through about what had happened in Paris.
“But a chill went down my spine when I realised that just 24 hours earlier I had been in the same area enjoying a meal in a small French restaurant.
“It was very close to where the atrocities took place the following night.
“I felt a real sense of ‘it could have been me.’”
The death toll has risen to 132, with dozens more injured.
France has entered three days of national mourning, but the culture ministry said public museums and attractions will reopen on Monday afternoon.
Prosecutors say it is now known that at least three French suicide bombers were involved in the deadly attacks, with two of them living in the Belgian capital Brussels.
Shearer added: “It is horrendous what has happened and my heart goes out to all those people, who like myself and three others, had just gone out for an enjoyable few hours in a lovely part of a great city.
“The thing that struck me was the diversity of backgrounds that mixed together in that particular area. It was really laid back and very popular in many places.