Someone living in a non walkable city, Paris changed my life.

I grew up in a small town in the United States, and visiting Paris kind of changed how I think about cities.

What stayed with me wasn’t just the big landmarks. It was the simple feeling of walking around. Hearing the city around me, turning down a random street, passing a cafe, a church, a little park, a bridge, a market, people just living their lives.

Where I’m from, you don’t really get that. You mostly drive from one place to another.

For people who know Paris well, are there other cities that gave you a similar feeling? Not necessarily cities that look like Paris, but places that have that same sense of walking, street life, atmosphere, and discovery.

I’m especially interested in neighborhoods or routes that feel good to move through slowly.

Part of why I’m asking is that I’ve been playing with a personal project around recreating that feeling of slow city wandering from home. I keep thinking there are probably a lot of people who could use that feeling, especially if they don’t live somewhere very walkable.

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