Paris, France

1) General/ Interesting facts

2) 3 Turist places
3) 3 Food/Art/Music
4) Cultural practices

INTERESTING FACTS:

3. Parisian Metro Ghost Stations

Although it counts almost 400 stations, the Paris metro’s network keeps a few
secrets. Actually, no less than 14 stations are listed as “abandoned”, “no longer in
use” or “never used”. Most of them, like the station Molitor, are now used as a
garage for the storage and maintenance of the underground trains. One of these
abandoned stations, Porte des Lilas, is even used as a film set and can be rented
by production companies.

. Opéra Garnier’s Underground Lake

In 1862, Charles Garnier started the building of the famous Opéra de Paris, which
would later on be given his name. However, he encountered a big issue: the
building’s foundations were endangered by the swampy ground on which the
architect planned to build. He then decided to build a concrete liner filled with water
to block infiltrations. Inaccessible to the public, the 10,000-cubic-meter lake is
today used by the scuba divers of the Paris fire brigade for their training.

Did you know that there are no stop signs on Paris

roads?
Parisians aren’t renowned for their considerate driving, but it might just be because
they don’t have the necessary street signage; Paris has no stop signs on any of its
6,100 streets. Why is this? 

Whether its the hectic free-for-all that is the Peripherique or the utter chaos of
the Etoile roundabout, driving in Paris is not for the most faint-hearted. Maybe it’s a natural
side effect of the passion the city’s inhabitants put into their work, arts, culture and cuisine. But
it might also have something to do with the fact there are no signs telling drivers to stop and
check for oncoming traffic, an entirely normal sight in any other major city.
The city is perhaps the only major capital in the Western world that doesn’t have a single stop
sign. Cars do not come to a full stop at any intersection without traffic lights. That wasn’t
always the case.

Until a few years ago it had one, lonely sign at the exit of a construction facility driveway going
onto the Quai Saint-Exupery in the 16th arrondissement. But in mysterious circumstances, that
was removed some time between 2012 and 2014. The culprit (or hero) remains unclear, as
does their motivation.

The explanation? Well, the car on the right always has the priority in Paris. But is a rule like
that enough?

Does the fact that the only thing stopping collision after collision is a rule of thumb make Paris
seem like a more dangerous place to drive? Not according to DEKRA, a German vehicle
company which compiled road accident statistics from 2009 to 2012. According to its findings
Paris is doing pretty well. Road fatalities are a third of London and a quarter of Rome,
comparable cities. Good city planning trumps superior signage, it seems.

To drive in Paris is often seen as an ordeal by car drivers passing through, or even
regular ones. The permanently dense traffic gives a cold sweat to many, and we
often come to wonder why there aren’t more car accidents than there are on Paris’
roads. It actually might be thanks to the “priority to the right” rule going on across
the whole city. The only signage you can find in Paris is the traffic lights, but there’s
one exception. On the Saint Exupéry dock, at the exit of a construction company,
was the one and only “STOP” sign in Paris. In 2012, it was finally replaced by a “no
left turn” sign. Paris holds the world record for the fewest amount of stop signs.

2. TURIST PLACES:

LOUVRE MUSEUM

The Louvre museum is the world’s most popular museum, welcoming around 9
million visitors every year. Its popularity is partly due to its eclecticism and its great
variety of pieces of art. The museum lists a total of 460,000 pieces, but “only”
35,000 are shown to the public. It is the biggest collection on the planet. If you
wanted to see every artwork, if only for 30 seconds each, it would take you 35
days.
EIFFEL TOWER
ARCO DEL TRIUNFO.