Paris Streets
The city of Paris has for a long time been regarded as one of the most fascinating cities in the whole of Europe. While it keeps true to all the modern aspects of the city with its modernization and technological advances, it still retains the beauty of the old Paris with its gothic and classical architecture, that are denoted in some of the famous buildings in the city. The Parisian culture is easily addictive, more so because the city has been designed to encourage it. The city of light is rich in art, as attested to by the many art museums available. It’s rich in attractions, ranging from simple public spaces and gardens to monumental works of art such as the cathedrals and chapels.
Navigation in Paris is eased by its intuitive arrangement. For a city that is always chaotic due to the large groups of people, a considerable percentage of them being tourists, it’s surprisingly easy to find your way around. The streets, avenues and boulevards are easily and wisely mapped out, such that finding your way around should not take you too long. Incase you have some days of touring Paris, the best tours are those that you take on foot. You get to see the city at street level and able to better appreciate the Parisian culture and enjoy the simple life, by dining in the outside cafes, shopping in the world-renowned shops and spending a lazy afternoon in one of the many the green spaces that are laid out throughout the city.
The arrangement of the city of Paris is mostly credited to Baron Haussman who between the years of 1853 and 1870 came up with a modernization program to transform the medieval city of Paris into a modern one. While most of his urban planning work was based on building facades, green spaces, monuments and the city’s facilities, he did put a lot of effort into the streets and boulevards. This was during the reign of Napoleon III who felt that Paris had been unchanged since the Middle Ages and wanted to have better control of the capital. His redesign covered the construction of a large network of avenues that would ease movement and traffic. Some of the narrow interweaving streets were preserved, while new larger ones were created. These Grands Boulevards were existent before his urbanization plans. These included the creation of new boulevards so named the Haussmannian boulevards which drastically transformed the city. Some of his best work is seen in the avenues that form a star from the Arch of Triumph.
Walking journeys prove to be very involving in the streets of Paris because they have everything you would need to consider your visit of Paris satisfactory. The most famous streets have everything from expensive boutiques to simple cafes that offer the kind of cuisine that you only get in France. There are the others that lead to the public squares, parks and gardens which provide the kind of romantic environment that is perfect during the late summer.