MOON METRO PARIS

Moon Metro Paris
2nd Edition
ISBN 1-56691-476-0
$16.95
Purchase here through Amazon.com or visit Indiebound.org to find your local independent bookseller.

Paris is a city of dramatic extremes—sophisticated and relaxed, delicate and debauched, secret and sensational, ultramodern and flamboyantly Gothic. Chic neighborhoods cavort with bawdy boutiques, royal promenades collide with frenzied shopping streets, and people of all types create constant foot traffic to a rhythm of city life that tugs at the heart, often despite our rational resistance.

In this dense, congested home to two million, the high cost of living, traffic snarls, and infamous bureaucracy can wear down even the hardiest local. The legendary grumpiness of Parisian waiters is even, on occasion, merited. Still, Paris’s allure remains. In fact, its imperfections reveal the city’s most touching aspect—Paris is a profoundly human place. Couples kiss on park benches while blue-haired grandmothers feed pigeons. People meet on the steps of the Opéra Garnier and sunbathe at the foot of the Tour Eiffel. Everywhere you’ll witness a thirst for life unextinguished by war, social tumult, or the steady wear of years.

Paris is famous the world over for the love of good food enjoyed at leisure, the primacy of fashion and people-watching, and the strict social graces that structure daily life. Despite inroads by fast food, Parisians still subscribe to what Brillat-Savarin wrote in the early 19th century: “The way in which mealtimes are passed is most important to what happiness we find in life.” Head to the Sunday morning market and admire the crowds jockeying for the best roasted chicken or stinkiest Camembert.

The same zest inspires style mavens, forever cultivating Le Look—an English term used to describe a person’s total style. The urban crunch that serves the fashion-forward also makes the rules of propriety and courtesy critically important to all Parisians. These little gestures act both as a nod to the past and a social password. Every conversation should begin with “bonjour,” whether you’re buying bread or an Hermès scarf. And everyone has the right to be addressed as Monsieur or Madame. Do as the Parisians do, and you’ll receive the same courtesy in return.

Officially, Paris is divided into 20 districts (arrondissements), each with its own mayor and council, but the historic heart of Paris is Ile de la Cité, the small island first settled more than 2,000 years ago. Around it flows the Seine, dividing the city into the Rive Droite (Right Bank) and Rive Gauche (Left Bank). Relics of old Paris architecture flank both banks in a fairly small area including the Marais, the Latin Quarter, and St-Germain-des-Prés.

Although you can take a boat tour on the Seine to see the main sights, the surprisingly compact city is best seen on foot. You can often walk from one museum to another, past manicured parks, colonnaded courtyards, chic boutiques, and buzzing cafés. One of the most breathtaking views of the low-rise skyline is from the top of the Tour Eiffel, but there are other aerial vistas from the roof of the Institut du Monde Arabe, the steps of Sacré-Coeur, and of course Quasimodo’s lookout on the north tower of Notre-Dame.

With its imperial grandeur and local air, it’s no wonder that Paris has been adopted over the centuries by so many artists and thinkers. Its sheer beauty lies not only in its material charm, but also in its approach to a civilized and refined way of life.