Entre Les Murs

Modern Paris

There is a side of Paris we think of less often, we who delight in the statues, palaces, and grand avenues, and the centuries of history that seep from the cities stones; but after Louis XV, Napoleon and Haussmann came those who saw no reason not to place modern Europe alongside the historic. So the Louvre is not far from the Pompidou Centre, the Arc de Triomphe is lined up with the Grande Arche de la Defense, and yesterday I stumbled into a park that might have been created as a counterpoint to the Tuileries or the Champ de Mars. Just down Rue Exelmans and across the river is a park with the straight lines and right angles of 20th century architecture, filled with squared-off gardens, ruled paths and planar fountains.


It is called the Parc André Citröen, and in the middle of it is a tethered balloon in which one can take a ride to get a view of Paris.



Speaking of parks, the sun came out for my morning run in the Bois de Boulogne, and there are leaves on the trees and forsythia in bloom. Perhaps now we'll see what this "springtime in Paris" folderol is all about.

posted 19.4.06