Best possible introduction to Paris. You want to survey the French capital – get it in view, understand it – you can’t do better than listen to this.
It’s the start of Paris Walks’ guide Brad’s Notre Dame & Two Islands Virtual Tour
Well, you can do better. You can go on and do the full monte – the virtual tour. First of all, by definition, it’s illustrated. Brilliantly so – hey, it’s Paris. And it’s the whole shebang. This short podcast is just the opening. From these introductory remarks about the Seine and the two banks and the size and growth of Paris and its early history and Pont Neuf, Brad moves on to an in-depth exploration – and portrayal – of both islands, of their sights and character, of Parisian life on them, of Notre Dame, etc.
It’s a feast for the eye and the mind.
“the where and why of Paris”
“Paris is 1/14th the size of London”
“I live up here in the 18th”
“you can walk across the city in a couple of hours”
“Point Zero”
“Parisians think it’s the centre of the world”
“the river is wider on the right bank side and that’s why…”
“symbolically there’s a difference between the Right Bank and the Left Bank”