<< Lost & Found || Getting Oriented >>
Paris entered the new millennium looking better than ever. After a push in the 1980s and 1990s to renovate major monuments and clean up historic buildings, the city is now at work rehabilitating older neighborhoods and adding more green spaces and pedestrian-only zones throughout the capital. Some neighborhoods awaiting their turn, especially in the outer districts of the 10th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, have a mix of deteriorated pre-WWII housing that needs complete renovation and grim 1960s buildings more in need of a serious facelift. For those who really want to get to know Paris, it’s important to visit these neighborhoods before they, too, change. Belleville’s ethnic diversity and the Butte aux Cailles’ village atmosphere may someday disappear within a more homogenized city. This chapter offers a framework for discovering the major sights of the city’s most popular districts as well as the lesser-known, hidden corners of Paris. But no guidebook could cover everything worth seeing in Paris, so don’t be afraid to branch out into interesting-looking streets and do a bit of your own exploration.
