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- Paris pushes out from its center on the Île de la Cité in a series of rings, with ramparts
that extend farther and farther from the core
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That is the reason why neighborhoods that grew up before about 1850 are often within strolling distance, and why you can reach most of the famous sites on foot.
Industry brought working-class districts to the north, east, and south – and wealthy districts to the west. This split (the west is rich, the east is poor) characterizes all inland cities in the northern hemisphere, because winds blow pollution east (sea winds make port towns different).
So while museums and imaginative architecture cluster on Paris's western fringe, signs of creative vitality are relatively absent: Rents are too high.
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That situation has had the opposite effect on the city's less favored borders. There architecture tends to be lower-income and museums are rare. But that is where new art has always flourished.
To the north, poverty is the indirect reason for Montmartre's celebrity. When rents there became too high, artists moved south to Montparnasse, and beyond. And now in the east, huge paintings decorate walls, tiny theaters propose two performances each night and in cafés poets read their works, musicians perform and young people chat deep into the night...
Coming next: banlieues where cars burn... and artists settle.
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- Walks that explore the outer marches
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•Costs, 1-5 people
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° Public transportation is included, but museum or other entry fees are extra. Drivers charge 40-55€ an hour within Paris, but these suggestions work well on foot. |
Credits: cancan / illustration in Les Mystères de Paris by Eugène Sue, 1843; .Kiki de Montparnasse / Man Ray ; beehive / Claude Abron ; tracks and wall painting / Anne Vanet