Day 57 – Paris (2 of 3)

Paris has a population of about 2.27 million people and a population density of  21,498 people per square kilometer.  It has the 22nd highest population density of any major city on earth(1).
Compare that with Seattle which is estimated to have just under 692 thousand people and a population density of 3151 people per square kilometer in 2017(2).   It’s not even  in the rankings of top population stats.

These simple statistics don’t begin to explain the differences between these two cities though.  In 1190AD, the fortress that is now called the Louvre was constructed, three hundred years before Columbus sailed to America. 

All of Seattle ‘s challenges with growth and urban development are like a fun game of Monopoly compared to the complex socio-economics of Paris.  

  

It is tempting to generalize about the crumbling state of municipal infrastructure or the constant wailing of sirens or the oppressive presence of heavily armed national police patrolling the streets or dozens of other social ills that make this a forbidding city to the casual tourist.  Yet Parisians seem to flutter past it all.  Sitting in outdoor cafes, smoking, and sipping wine in the afternoon is a national past time.  

I imagine that if I could understand the local media I would pickup on a palpable buzz of indignation by the citizenship.

  

 

I spent the bulk of the afternoon inside the Louvre.  There is a lot of art in various forms here.  Much of it is of anatomically correct human bodies. 

The most popular piece was titled “La Joconde” but known in the English speaking world as the “Mona Lisa”.    

The picture at the top of this post is a panoramic view of the courtyard and the glass pyramid surrounded by the four basic gallery halls. 

Entrance is through the pyramid which takes you to an underground labyrinth connecting all of the galleries and a formidable gift and souvenir shopping mall that includes an Apple Store, a McDonalds, and a Starbucks to name a few.

I enjoyed my 3 hours in the Louvre but I’m sure there is a more strategic method of gaining the most out of it than a full frontal attack in one afternoon.   Next time. 

 

Buen Camino,

– jgp

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_population_density

2. http://uspopulation2017.com/population-seattle-2017.html