Paris is one of the world's most walkable cities, survey shows
A global poll has placed Paris as the third most walkable city in the world, with good access to car-free spaces and nearby health and education facilities.
The poll by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy ranked cities in three categories; the proportion of people living within 100m of car-free spaces such as parks or pedestrianised streets, the proportion of people living within 1km of both healthcare and education facilities and the average size of city blocks.
Paris scored top in the healthcare and education category, with 85 percent of people living within 1km of both, and came third in the ranking overall, behind Hong Kong and Moscow and ahead of Bogota and London.
The survey didn't score this, but Paris is also a very pretty place to walk in with all sorts of interesting historical details - here are the 10 Paris streets you just have to walk down
As capital cities go, Paris is very compact, just 10km across meaning you can walk all the way across the city in about two hours.
For tourists it's even more compact, since most of the most visited sites in the city, including the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Notre-Dame cathedral, are clustered within about 4km of each other.
READ ALSO Six ways to get around Paris without public transport
The city's mayor Anne Hidalgo is working to cut the number of cars and make the city more pedestrian and cyclist friendly with plans to pedestrianise some famous areas including the Champs Elysées and the Champs de Mars.
She also has a long-term ambition to create a '15 minute city' in which everyone lives within 15 minutes of vital amenities such as shops and schools and possibly also workplaces.
And of course let's not forget that the French language has produced a verb - flanêr - specifically to describe aimless strolling while taking in lovely scenery, thinking philosophical thoughts or checking out the local talent.
READ ALSO Nine French words that English really should have too
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The poll by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy ranked cities in three categories; the proportion of people living within 100m of car-free spaces such as parks or pedestrianised streets, the proportion of people living within 1km of both healthcare and education facilities and the average size of city blocks.
Paris scored top in the healthcare and education category, with 85 percent of people living within 1km of both, and came third in the ranking overall, behind Hong Kong and Moscow and ahead of Bogota and London.
The survey didn't score this, but Paris is also a very pretty place to walk in with all sorts of interesting historical details - here are the 10 Paris streets you just have to walk down
As capital cities go, Paris is very compact, just 10km across meaning you can walk all the way across the city in about two hours.
For tourists it's even more compact, since most of the most visited sites in the city, including the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Notre-Dame cathedral, are clustered within about 4km of each other.
READ ALSO Six ways to get around Paris without public transport
The city's mayor Anne Hidalgo is working to cut the number of cars and make the city more pedestrian and cyclist friendly with plans to pedestrianise some famous areas including the Champs Elysées and the Champs de Mars.
She also has a long-term ambition to create a '15 minute city' in which everyone lives within 15 minutes of vital amenities such as shops and schools and possibly also workplaces.
And of course let's not forget that the French language has produced a verb - flanêr - specifically to describe aimless strolling while taking in lovely scenery, thinking philosophical thoughts or checking out the local talent.
READ ALSO Nine French words that English really should have too
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