Paris needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway.
Paris is the capital of France and—in terms of metro area—the largest city in the European Union by a HUGE margin. According to the OECD, the population is 11.2 million. For context, the next largest metro area population in the EU is Madrid, at 6.9 million. London (now ex-EU) and Istanbul (definitely not EU) clock-in at 13.4m and 14.6m respectively, according to the same OECD data set. So Paris is more than just a historic, beautiful place (although it is those things as well)—it actually fits the definition for a “mega-city”, in the same league as Mumbai, Mexico City or Los Angeles.
Our winter wanderings in Stockholm continue!
The previous article was more focused on a general introduction to Stockholm, but in this article I’m going to adopt a new focus: attempting to share the coziness of this trip with you. As beautiful and charming as Gamla Stan (Old Town), and Södermalm are, the best trips—to me—have a funny way of differentiating themselves not through the official sights to be seen, but what happens in between.
Today we’re going to walk from Green Park to the BT Tower at sunset. I’d plot out the route of my walk for you on Google maps, but I have no idea what my route actually was. As is my custom, I was trying to get lost. What I can tell you is that this walk will take us through a little corner of Mayfair, and then through neighborhoods called Soho and Fitzrovia. Having only been here for 1.5 months, I still feel quite under-qualified to be making any sort of statements about London as a whole, but these areas really feel like the “heart of the city” to me.
