TWO THINGS TO MAKE YOU A PARISIAN
B y G e o r g e M u y i N i e
G E O R G E G O E S T O P A R I S!
For me, the most important thing that I have realized about the whole scope of the city projects throughout the 17th century, is the extent to which Paris has been conceived as a walking city.
Paris. A city designed for pedestrians. A city designed to help people get outside, walk, appreciate the city, and to enjoy the city to its fullest. Or put it another way, it is rather impressive for people to realize that the city planner designed the‘ City of Light’ with the human scale in mind. You would be amazed to know the fact that the concept of a walking city has been around since the 17th century, and you would also be amazed by how the words constantly said by Henry IV and Louis XIV,“ We want people to have a place to go. We want them to have a place to walk. We want them to have a place to enjoy themselves.” still stands true today. Here I put down two examples of how people can benefit from this walking city.
1. Walking along the Seine with une glace au chocolat. This will definitely be on my must-do list every time I go to Paris in the future. Order an icecream at a Glasserie near the Seine River. Go and get your ice-cream in a bowl because if you get it in a cone it will just melt too fast. And walk along the river and walk down that very deep narrow little staircase. Be really careful because you have ice-cream in one hand, and find a place on one of the little benches there along the river. Sit and just watch the river traffic and you might hear the sound of some musicians down the river on the bridge, which is just
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