Arrival in Paris

Paris is one of the Top 3 most expensive cities in the world. The average size of a Paris apartment is 500 square feet (there are paintings in the Louvre that are larger than that!). The price is on average 13,000 euros per square meter to buy, making that 500 square feet apartment about $700,000. 

As we left the train station on the bus we will transfer from the northern central area to the southern central area of our hotel. The north and the east areas are the lower and working class areas, due to the factories being built here during the industrial revolution. This was to avoid the wind coming from the ocean spreading the odors from the factories across the city. This is also the ethnic areas of towns full of exotic foods and shops. This is the train station as we passed by:

There are 14 metro lines that cross the city making it incredibly easy to get around quickly (when it is not on strike - France is known for the frequency of its workers striking). It is a great example of city planning and compared to London the architecture is much more consistent because there is much less new construction within the city proper. 

For our transfer, we headed to the Périphérique, the ring road that contains the center of the city. It is the old wall of the city that contained gates into the city. Now it is a highway that is often quite full of traffic. Along the way we saw the urban gas stations that are quite small and right in the middle of the road. The price per gallon here is about $10 (1.50€ per liter, 4 liters per gallon). Hence the cars are very small, combined with the need for fuel efficiency and the fact there is nowhere to park. Notice that this highway, which is the major artery around Paris, is still smaller than either I-77 or I-85 (everything is smaller in France!). There are three through lanes and one merge lane for most of the highway. 

Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements, or neighborhoods, that start with #1 at the Louvre and spiral outwards like a snail. Each street sign in Paris also has the number on it that tells you what district you are in. Just like zip codes in the US, these numbers can indicate your social and economic status. 

Our hotel is in the southern edge of the city and the rooms are all doubles. Ibis is a national chain (comparable to a Homiday Inn Express). We have a metro stop about 5 minutes away which will be very convenient.

Lobby and breakfast area:

The kids have about 20 minutes to drop off bags and get ready to head out. Teeny rooms!