Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
buildings, walkways and parks. Old buildings have also been
refurbished, such that neighbourhoods are now trendy rather
than squat. Within the arrondissements are the quartiers
(neighbourhoods) with their individual characteristics
and tradition.
You Are Where You Live
Although in times past Parisians could be categorised by their
arrondissement , this is less true today as rising housing costs
are forcing them to make their homes wherever prices are still
reasonable. Many older neighbourhoods are being gentrified,
sometimes to the dismay of long-time residents who bemoan
the loss of their area's traditional character in the process of its
becoming a more agreeable place to live.
Thinking about Place
Parisians live in every habitable square metre of space
in their city, in spacious apartments overlooking leafy
boulevards or tiny walk-up flats above neighbourhood stores.
The quartiers can be airy and open, crowded and dense, or
a succession of commercial streets that seem not to be a
neighbourhood at all. Apartment buildings range from the
graceful and traditional to the modern and faceless, down to
the dilapidated and cheap. Some tranquil side streets have
charming little houses and many large buildings look inward
onto quiet courts; some must have windows with double
vitrage (double glazing) to keep out the noise from the street.
Parisians live in them all.
If an area seems strictly for business, just look up and you
will see a flowerpot on a ledge and a curtain waving in the
breeze of an open window. If an area seems so noisy you
cannot possibly imagine anyone living there, just wait until
you see someone coming home from work with a briefcase
in one hand and the evening's baguette in the other. And
if an area seems absolutely perfect, be prepared to pay
handsomely for that rare perfection.
The neighbourhood you choose for yourself will, of course,
depend on your circumstances and your purse. Much will
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search