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 time in Portugal continues! Now we’re going to head to the Lisbon airport and catch a plane to a little-known island off the coast of Africa that… somehow… is still part of Portugal?? It’s called Madeira.
To be perfectly honest, even I—PETER, THE MAP ENTHUSIAST—wasn’t sure where Madeira was when the idea of traveling here was first posed to me. This is why it’s good to plan trips with other adventurous friends: they will push you to places you wouldn’t have otherwise considered! Once we settled on going to Madeira, it turned out that we had quite a few friends who had traveled here before us, so perhaps this island isn’t so “little-known” after all. 🤷🏻♂️
Off the Sorrento Peninsula, in the Bay of Naples and the Tyrrhenian Sea, sits the tiny, beautiful island of Capri It may seem like the conversion of places into ~tourist destinations~ is something of a recent phenomenon—like in the last 70 years or so—but there are some places in this world that have attracted tourists for much, MUCH longer.
Capri is one of those places.
In fact, it was functioning as a vacation destination as far back as the ROMAN EMPIRE, likely before the birth of Christ. We actually don’t even know the origin of the name “Capri.” This idyllic isle just is. It’s eternal; immortal. And it’s also one of the rare places in the world where tourism cannot possibly cheapen the destination; it IS the destination.
