Yes, it’s true. Soon, skyscrapers will surround Parisians in a concrete maze, just as in many other modern cities struggling to remain vital and livable. Hidden in the fine print of all the articles on this however, is that the development will only be allowed to take place in the 13th arrondissment, leaving almost all of what tourists think of as “classic Paris” untouched. The 13th is the section immediately south of the 5th, and to the east of the 14th.

One of the striking things about Paris is that, for a major city whose metropolitan area includes nearly 12 million people, there are very few buildings more than five or six stories tall. Since 1977, soon after the construction of the 689 foot tall Tour Montparnasse, a building that sticks out like a sore thumb and is widely disliked by Parisians, there has been a height limit of 121 feet on all new buildings. (The Eiffel Tower, at 1,063 feet, is by far the tallest structure in the city.) But on Tuesday, Le Monde reported, the Paris City Council voted to raise the height limit to a revolutionary 590 feet, meaning that in the next few years, the Paris skyline will have a growth spurt.

[From Newly Freed from Height Limits, Paris Skyline Ready to Rise : TreeHugger]

Make sure to read the article since the explanation and vision are interesting. This should create an opportunity for new, ground-breaking architecture, including a planned crystal pyramid (artist’s drawing).

I’m consistently awestruck every time we visit our ‘Jardin.’  We’re so lucky to have le Jardin du Luxumbourg as our backyard.   Even after more than a decade and a half of coming to this lovely city each year, I have always found this park and its gardens magical.  Lately, I’ve found myself reading more about the planning of the space.

The Project for Public Spaces, a major urban planning think tank, considers the Luxembourg Gardens to be one of the most successful parks in the world, partly because it is so well integrated into the fabric of the city around it, which makes it easily accessible. There are also many things to do there, evidenced by the wide range of people who use it: children, older people, Sorbonne students, people cutting through on a lunch break, etc. People come to stroll, play chess, to sit and read, people watch, to sit at one of the cafes or to bring their children or grandchildren to one of the many attractions.  During the past decade, it has also become ground zero for French runners and athletes, who run/walk laps around the perimeter roads in the Park.  In addition, an organic fruit garden has sprung up in the southern section of the park, with pears, lemons, and oranges in full harvest.  Organized activities at the park include tennis, pony rides, puppet theatres, and toy sailboat rental (children float them in the large central fountain). We have used them all.  I just realized that visitors can also stop inside the Palais and attend a hearing of the French Senate, which is open to the public.

The Gardens also host innovative exhibits, such as one of aerial photographs from around the world.  Twice or thrice a year,  the exhibits are mounted on its perimeter gates facing Rue de Vaugirard and Blvd. St Michel.  In addition, it has an intimate Musée where we have seen some of the most memorable expositions, like the exquisite and rare Modigliani show we saw a couple of years ago.

I can imagine why Marie de Medici, bereaved after the death of her husband, could no longer live in the Louvre, and wanted to have this palace and the gardens built to remind of her childhood home, Palazzo Pitti in Florence.  We all want to be ‘home.’  My husband and I walk through the Jardin daily, and talk about whether indeed, this can or cannot be ‘a moveable feast.’

Our kids love Paris’ parks, and the splattering of manèges and play structures we find on our long walks across the city. But day in, day out, except when it rains, they want to go back to “Le Jardin,” as everyone, at least in the 6th and 7th, calls it. Aside from being classically beautiful, designed by architect Salomon de Brosse under Marie de Medici’s supervision (1615-1627), and a wonderful place for adult pursuits, like making out on the grass, playing tennis, or dozing by the bassin, this place is filled with stuff kids like. More below the quote.

Paris is a great place to take your children on holiday as there are many tourist attractions, museums and parks in the city that cater to children. Several of the parks scattered across Paris, are equipped with playgrounds, carousels, puppet shows and petting zoos that children are sure to love.

1. Jardins du Luxembourg (Rue de Médicis, Rue de Vaugirard) – This garden has a long history, it was established in the 17th century by Marie de Medicis from Italy. This is one of the most popular gardens in Paris and is especially full on weekends, when there are guignols, puppet shows and poneys! There are also a number of ponds where one can go boating, take a stroll, or simply relax while the children play in the sun.

Best parks for Kids in Paris, Family travel in France. Zoos, parks and games

Take your pick from the attractions below made for the under 12 set:

• Pony carrousel with “grab the ring” feature
• Zipline ride
• Immense play structure and sandboxes (n.b. pay for entry, even for parents)
• Cotton candy
• Rental sailboats in the fountain
• Pony and donkey rides
• Famous marionette theatre
• Flying two person swings

There is plenty to enjoy here without paying a cent, but go with kids, and expect to shell out plenty of 2 Euro coins to enjoy the full experience.

As we wander through our jetlagged first few days in Paris, we have been talking about why we are always so deliriously happy in this city. Here are our many different theories.

1. We are on vacation. Well, that used to be the case, back in the day when people took vacations where no one can reach you and you forget as much as you can about worklife for a week. Now, I can’t really say I’m on vacation. I’m away from my regular work pattern, but I’m still logging in and working. Otherwise, we couldn’t spend two weeks here. It’s not an absence of “work” that makes me feel happy, though I’d love to be able to take one of those old style vacations again.

2. It’s the wine. Yes, it certainly doesn’t hurt, but if anything, if I were drinking a glass of wine at lunch and dinner back at home, I’d feel lousy in the morning and grumpy all day between drinks. I just don’t drink as much back home, nor does it ever taste as good, or as “organic” as wine tastes in France along with a good meal.

3. It’s the quality of the food ingredients. I’ve long suspected that better food tampers less with the human body, and all the latest out Michael Pollan and his pals seems to support a public consensus on this point. If you choose correctly, you can still get good restaurant meals in France. There are no omnipresent SYSCO food service trucks pulling up to every restaurant to unload pre-made condiments, doughs, and powdered quick-made entrées.

4. It’s the walking. Only European cities make it easy for tourists to walk almost everywhere, while enjoying feasts for the eyes. Paris is no exception and we often walk five or more miles per day, tethered to one of two 50 pound weights we call children. The exercise is great and certainly lightens the load of the heavy servings of guilt and remorse we consume at the end of every meal.

5. It’s the natural beauty. Now, we may be getting somewhere. My wife remarked that she always feels close to nature while in Paris. “Close to nature” in a city of two million people? Yes. It’s the manicured parks and green space. The shady trees. The fountains. The bikes now everywhere. The river we have to cross on most journeys.

6. Finally, we think it might be largely the urban planning. I don’t think you can discount the long term effect of the Haussmann reconstruction of this city that made it into a fairly uniform, but beautiful composite that also reflects a golden light that is unique to Paris, at least among large cities. The French, despite obvious temptations, have mostly avoided ’60-style architecture and the pull of skyscraper within the Paris city limits after wake-up call that was the Tour Montparnasse. There are no mini-malls, now no above ground parking lots and a standardization of commercial signage. If this is what French socialism means, then give us more of it.

We come from San Francisco so we know what natural beauty is, but we’re always dismayed by urban San Francisco: the omnipresent work-live lofts which now dominate every neighborhood with an architectural style that no one would ever want to represent their city. The shoddy development of South of Market. The paucity of real world-class architecture outside of our newest museums. Even the dominance of Victorian houses, which we know are charming to some, but which we find sickly sweet after a few too many blocks. San Francisco, for us, is the GG bridge, the Marin Headlands. Fort Cronckite. The Presidio. The Ferry Building facing away from the city. The tree-lined streets of Pacific Heights — You can hate Pacific Heights if you want to, but there are peaceful alleys there where the mind can rest.

Whenever I’m here, I feel pounds lighter, years younger, and IQ points smarter. Name one other vacation spot that can do all that.

If you haven’t heard, Nicolas Sarkozy, as did most notably Francois Mitterand before him, is fantasizing already about “les grands projets” which will someday memorialize his reign. While Mitterand got his I.M. Pei Pyramid, the La Defense Arche, the Ministere de la Finance, the Opéra de la Bastille, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Sarkozy is looking even bigger, imagining an entirely new Paris.   

One of the first things Sarkozy did after he moved into the Elysée Palace was to convene a meeting of prominent architects and ask them to come up with a new blueprint for Paris…The results, a year later, may be the beginning of one of the boldest urban planning operations in French history. A formidable list of architects — including Richard Rogers, Jean Nouvel, Djamel Klouche and Roland Castro — put forward proposals that address a range of urban problems: from housing the poor to fixing outdated transportation systems to renewing the immigrant suburbs. Some have suggested practical solutions — new train stations and parks — while others have been more provocative, like Castro, who proposed moving the presidential palace to the outskirts.

[From The Architecture Issue - Remaking Paris for the 21st Century - NYTimes.com]

The slide show linked here is a beautiful set of images of what a country as dynamic and rich as France can do in the way of urban planning. Not since Haussmann, however, has anyone looked so broadly, at least outside of an architecture school project, for a new concept of the French capitol.

Many of the ideas, thankfully, take “green” to a new level, trading vertical space for more parks and “green belts” to provide the city with more air, produce, and outdoor space. Several of the plans even include vegetation growing up the sides and roofs of the buildings.

Slideshow Paris Is Building – The New York Times

For 50 years after World War II, Europe’s slow rebuilding was looked on as the failings of the quasi-socialist state. Without becoming overly Panglossian about the state of Europe, their “oppressively command” economies are capable of doing amazing things for all of their citizens while providing universal healthcare.