Notre dernier jour à Paris! We have spent the past 9 days in the fifth arrondissement on Boulevard Saint Germaine in an apartment on the 6th level with views of the La tour Eiffel and the Notre Dame de Paris. We have shopped, wined and occasionally ‘dined’ in this neighbourhood.
We have walked and bussed across this very compact city, a city of 10 million across 100 sq kilometres. It is the 7th densest city in the world.
No wonder you feel a strong sense of the urban.
It is a lived in city broken by the many small and large public places with their formidable statues and some meditative green spaces. It is a city that has survived planners and modernisers. Maybe some would feel it’s uniformity oppressive or limiting. But it works and provides its citizens and visitors with much on offer.
And Hotel de Ville protects its residents from ‘innovations’ that would destroy its mobility and character. It has banned commercial e scooters and encourages cycling, walking and public transport. It has increased the cost of parking for SUV vehicles.
The longer you linger, Paris comes nearer to its myth.
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