Paris : clichés are having a hard time
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Translation by:
Viveka Anandane
Legendary city that one should see at least once, Paris does not stop making people dream and, at the same time, conveys clichés which participate in building its identity and its charm. To visit Paris and find a housing stay there, the capital city offers lots of unique accomodations, simple, luxurious, perfect to spend time with family or just as a couple during a romantic getaway. This is also the perfect opportunity to check on how much truth there actually is on everything that is said about Paris... .
The parisian chic, a myth or a reality that always seduces people
The image of the parisian woman, chic and elegant, has always inspired the world of fashion, arts and litterature throughout the entire world. The parisian chic is above all a cultural identity, a signature, decades of creations, all as spectacular as unmatched. The parisian elegance, which later became the french elegance itself, has great fashion artists and tailors to thank to. First, there was Gabrielle Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent... and many other who participated in infusing the image of the elegant woman, graced with an incredible allure, independent, sometimes superficial but never a fool. More recently, Inès de la Fressange was one of the ambassador, proud and worthy of this parisian chic that people lust for, long for but which can never be equaled !
Parisians drive very badly
Some places are suitably developed for cyclists and pedestrians, such as the shores of the Canal Saint-Martin, but when it comes to sharing road with car drivers, some walkers do not feel that reassured anymore. Clichés are having a hard time and licence plates labelled "75" do not have a good reputation. The never ending ballet on the Place de l'Etoile is a daily proof of it. May the foreigner or the countrymen who dare wander inside Paris note this: there is no use in waiting for people to let you pass-by, imposing yourself remains the best solution to forge yourself a space among the cars ! And no matter whether you are in a car or walking, in Paris, better be careful anyway.
Parisians are always in a hurry
This cliché might surely be a follow-up and consequence of the previous one but it is also due to the hectic life of those who live within the capital, exhausted by "métro-boulot-dodo" as the saying goes, meaning "metro-work-sleep" and which does not suggest an indolent life. To take a train at 6.30 a.m at the Gare du Nord and then travel accross the entire city to get to work in the suburbs or vice-versa, (and without even talking about the same reverse journey in the evening to come back ! ), it seems self-evident to say that parisians have very little time to admire the landscapes !
To each area in Paris, its' own set of clichés
Far from being sole administrative cuts of the capital, each parisian districts has its own image, its own particularity, and brought all-together, they participate in forging the beauty of the city. These subdivisions are legacies of sections drawn at the very end of the French Revolution.
To put it simply, we may say that the "richer" and plusher neighbourhoods are those located in the west of Paris. The 7th, 8th, 15th as well as the 16th districts distinguish themselves from the rest with their peaceful streets along which you find beautifully built residential flats.
On the contrary, the working-class neighbourhoods are located in the north-east of Paris. The 18th, 19th and 20th districts have inherited from several factories after the industrial revolution of 1840.
A most exotic area is the 13th one, reputed to be the Chinatown of Paris. The most trendy neighbourhoods, districts 11 and 6 with the renowed Saint-Germain-des-Prés area are those of high-class culturally oriented people, with literary cafés whereas district 8, the one with the Champs-Elysées, remains the one which attract the higher number of tourists.
Facts or fictions ? Clichés in Paris are having a hard time ! The best way to acknowledge it is to stay in this city, to discover it, and then approve or not the few lines that you have just read.
Translated from Paris, les clichés ont la vie dure