Paris at the Moment - lots of scaffolding

There is always a lot of scaffolding in Paris. Buildings are required by code to renew their facades every 15 years or so.

I find complaints about scaffolding very odd. If nothing else, scaffolding is proof that Paris is very serious about keeping the city maintained and in good overall condition for residents and visitors alike to enjoy for generations to come.

There is never a bad time to visit Paris

It makes me think about visitors who didn’t have the opportunity to see Notre Dame prior to the fire. I am grateful to have photos pre fire. My favorite was taken from the Seine tour boat. Glad to hear it wasn’t a first visit for you.

I can recall scaffolding in Rome at the Trevi Fountain. Fortunately it wasn’t my first visit. I also think about the sites in Athens that are in constant repair. Never ending job security. ;)

I totally agree with you Tocard. There is never a bad time to visit Paris. I find all the negatives mentioned are non-issues. Good for Anne Hidalgo for making it more difficult for tour busses. I wish they were banned.

And thank god they caught the evil terrorists and have them on trial now to face justice.

cj, I’d like to read about all the wonderful things you saw and experienced in Paris.

You can still see Notre Dame from the outside. And she is still beautiful.

Tocard and Susan: I have a plaque hanging on my wall that says "Paris is always a good idea", and indeed it is. And yes, Notre Dame is still beautiful. But I am grateful that I have been inside and been up to the roof and, in fact, have a photo of myself with my arm around a gargoyle. (Okay, not actually a gargoyle but I can't remember the name for the creatures on the roof who not actually gargling).

I remember reading about scandals in Italy where work was delayed in order to keep rentals accumulating for the scaffolding providers.

Sometimes you take a little bad with all the beautiful good. As others have mentioned RS never a bad time to visit Paris. Scaffolding is a sign of progress not something tourists should worry about. I was in Paris in July / August and didn’t notice anything odd, construction wise. What I did notice - and was very grateful for - were short lines at museums, virtually traffic, noise and pollution free (the reason the mayor closes some streets and limits cars in the city) . Bravo! The cafes were still serving coffee and the restaurants still had their famous plat du jour. what’s more important - culture, cuisine, beauty, architecture or signs of progress? I’ll take them all to be in Paris again.

“I’ll take them all to be in Paris again.”
I agree!

Kay, how great you got to go up on the roof!

Kay- Absolutely right! Paris is always a good idea! Regarding Notre Dame, my husband and I were very lucky to visit exactly 2 months prior to the fire. And extremely blessed to witness a mass! For some reason, out of all the places, we purchased momento coins (from the machines) for all of our kiddos 😊. Other places, maybe one….

I hadn't been around Notre Dame since the fire, and when I took a stroll by this summer to go to one of my favorite restaurants (Au Bougnat),my heart was ripped up into pieces seeing it with barriers all around it. Ouch. I didn't realize how much it would hurt. I always loved spending time in the park behind the cathedral and that can't be done either. I look forward to it opening again. That will for sure be a giant celebration. I hope to be living in Paris by then!

Alexander's replies always impress me. I hope you are living there by then, too.

cj--you sound so disappointed that what's happening now is not the memories you had, which obviously were wonderful. Were the back or sides of the Opera visible? If you were doing a drive-by, I see how this would disappoint.

One point, the Mayor's plan is to open more streets, which are shared taxpayer funded public spaces, to pedestrians and less to large vehicles. There will have to be adjustments.

To clarify - I did NOT have a disappointing trip. I have seen Notre Dame before the fire. I've seen the Opera House, the Madeline, the Grand Palais, etc without scaffolding. My concern was for those planning a potentially once in a lifetime visit to Paris in the next couple of years. And there is more than normal right now. This from our tour director who has led tours there for close to 20 years. It makes total sense that the french would want to polish up their jewel of a city to show it at it's best when on the world stage in 2024.

Why it wasn't disappointing? I got a chance to revisit the Musee D'orsay with a knowledgeable tour guide. I got to visit the Louvre after closing hours with a largely empty museum instead of thousands elbow to elbow. We had dinner at Ciel de Paris with champagne on the rooftop terrace. I finally got to see the Saint Chapelle (more on that). I love Paris and will gladly go again. I also loved the time with spent at Versailles, the Loire valley, Brittany and Normandy.

On the police presence right now, it mostly doesn't affect anything unless you go to the Ile de la Cite - specifically to tour either the Saint Chapelle or the Conciergerie. The judiciary building where the trial is taking place is right next to those. Police surround most of the Ile and there is only one access point opposite Notre Dame. I got a chance to practice my french on several gendarmes trying to find the way in. The ones with semi-automatics slung across their chest's were slightly unnerving.

And while I'm generally in favor of promoting green energy efforts, the current solution needs some work. Definitely seeing more bicycles in the city but like many here at home they seem to believe it's okay to rule the road ignoring traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, etc. It used to be that I just worried about motorcycles in Paris, but now you can add bikes. And large tour buses are a fact unless you want to ban tour groups entirely (including Rick Steves tours). A city bus can breeze thru traffic in special lanes even if largely empty but a full tour bus sits in bumper to bumper traffic creeping along.

I don’t think anyone disagrees that repairs and maintenance are necessary, but it sounds like the OP offered a sincere heads up to those who are visiting for the first time planning to see world famous sights they’ve dreamed about seeing their entire lives. We paid admission specifically for a renowned medieval cloister that turned out to be completely enshrouded in scaffolding and drop cloths. Were we disappointed? You bet. As we left I mentioned it in passing to the person who took our money and got no argument but rather an apologetic smile and shrug. Maybe if they had billed it as a Christo installation they could have doubled the price. Safe travels.

Denny and OP: The thing is, in 2024, who knows what will have scaffolding around it then? As other folks have noted, there are no guarantees. Over my 28 years of going to France, and often bringing other people there for the first time, there was always something under construction. But then I'd take my visitors to a cafe on a beautiful square, let them watch the people.....and they fell in live with Paris forever. :)

This conversation has reminded me of the beautiful segment in the film "Paris, je'taime" about a woman taking language classes in Paris ... here's the link: https://vimeo.com/5988391. Made all the more meaningful by the great Margo Martindale.

I'm posting from Ile St Louis right now & indeed, not only is Notre Dame covered in scaffold, but the entire Rive Gauche along the Ile Cite is lined with more of it, set to go up. I see it as wonderful...the huge task of restoring that grand dame is proceeding apace, Covid or non! It's a pleasure to see a town that puts such value on it's sacred patrimonie. True, I miss the chance to visit the old girl this trip, but that hive of workmen, cranes, & scaffold tells me she'll still be here for my (& everyone's) future trips...& their children & grandchildren as well. Kudos to France & mayor Hidalgo.

" I 'll take them all to be in Paris again." D'accord.

I think it was the 2009 trip in France when I decided to see Notre Dame again and it was covered with scaffolding along with other construction materials. Of course, I was disappointed but, at least, I was there in Paris again, which I am never tired of going to.

To quote the song title, "C'est ça Paris. "

cj: Thank you for posting your impressions of Paris during your recent visit, which included observations that there was a lot of scaffolding, more bikes, and bike riders not following traffic rules. You were disappointed in what you found and wanted to let folks know, especially first-time visitors. Perfectly valid, and others can decide how important it might be for their travel plans. It's just unfortunate that responses by the predictable Defenders Of All That Is Paris basically hijacked your message. To some of you responders: How is it helpful to label the OP’s disappointment about scaffolding “very odd”? The ubiquitous nature of scaffolding in Paris/Europe is irrelevant to someone who was hoping to see less of it. Whether or not it bothers you is beside the point. As for the chorus of “there is never a bad time to visit Paris”, of course this is not a universal sentiment, which was a major point of the OP’s initial post. Those of you who love Paris under any and all conditions can sing it’s praises to the heavens, but in doing so, please don’t be dismissive of other POVs. As poster Denny wrote: “I don’t think anyone disagrees that repairs and maintenance are necessary, but it sounds like the OP offered a sincere heads up to those who are visiting for the first time planning to see world famous sights they’ve dreamed about seeing their entire lives.” Exactly.

I adore Christos work and am feeling a little jealous of all you lot who have been able to see his final project. Wish I could....

I can understand the disappoint of having the momument you've been dying to see being covered in scaffolding. That's Europe, though. Thank God (or whomever) that they care about these places enough to keep them in good shape. I remember the whole year I lived in Chartres that there was scaffolding all over the inside of the cathedral but when I came back after all of the work was done, I was blown away. I know it is controvercial for some.

bugslife: thanx for getting the point of my post. Not everyone has the luxury of visiting someplace like Paris multiple times. I'm glad I've been able to. Would love to do a Christmas time visit. Dec 2024 seems like a good time.

Our family was in Paris in 2017. We loved it. The history & the people! Later that year my wife was diagnosed with cancer & passed 18 months later. This life is very short. Do not put off going because it's not perfect. Just go!

*Am going back over Christmas & New Years. I am so excited

Years ago over on Thorn Tree, I proposed that some traveler with the requisite tech skills create a 'What's Under Scaffolds Just Now?' site. You know, international travelers could've gone to whatever featured countries they were about to visit and check in those sections for a heads-up.
Agreed that Paris is wonderful NO. Matter. What!

Anyone ever stay at the decrepit old *Henri IV 'hotel' in leafy Pl. Dauphine? An entire book could be written about that cheap dump.
I am done. the end.

I can remember MANY years ago being in Rome and the Sistine Chapel ceiling was covered for restoration. Now that's disappointing.

I believe it was Mark Twain who wrote... "Europe will be a grand place, if they ever finish it". It seems the distractions of renovations & reconstruction were irritants in the 19th century as well as our own.

After reading through this thread, I remembered visiting La Familia Sagrada in Barcelona 2016. I was going through my photos that I took from the top of the tower. Lo and behold I snapped a picture with a peek-a-boo view between the scaffolding & a crane! lol. I thought nothing of it at the time because it’s been evolving about 150 years. It’s my favorite “unfinished” art nouveau masterpiece!

https://www.bdcnetwork.com/sagrada-familia-completion-date-pushed-back-due-coronavirus

Mark, I’m so sorry you lost your wife. So glad you were able to enjoy Paris together. Your words are very wise and so true.

Until well into the 1970s we would have found Paris buildings black with soot, including the famous ones, and many of the older neighborhoods had rundown buildings with sketchy building plumbing, one toilet per floor or every two floors or only one in the courtyard for the entire building. Today's cleaned up buildings are a treat that we've had for only the last 30-40 years. Look at old photos to see.

I remember well Bets, huge improvement now. One example is the Arc de Triomphe, it was black back in the day.

So was the Opera, Conciergerie, Notre Dame....
I started noticing the difference in the 1980s. That's also when some of the last pockets of unsanitary lodgings came down behind the Gare de Lyon, in the 20th, and elsewhere, and the 18th was rebuilt after the WWII bombings. Canal St. Martin was shabby small factories and workshops, not trendy yet

And Notre Dame itself was not scrubbed until the late 1990s, I remember that it looked quite forbidding before then.

I love reading these posts about what it was like back several decades ago. I didn't get to France until summer of 2007 when I was in college - so modern Europe is all I know. But as a big French cinema buff, there's something about Paris in the 1980s that really attracts me.

@Bets - not France, but when I was in London I went to the Churchill War rooms - they played Churchill's funeral on a loop in the adjacent Churchill museum - and his funeral went all over London, including by the Thames, etc., and I noticed that too - ALL the dark buildings as compared to today, we are very lucky that these massive cities have worked on cleaning these buildings up!

We will be in Paris in early November. When will the ADT be uncovered? I hope before we arrive?

Edit: Google says wrapped till October 3rd. Hope the wrapping will be all gone by November 1st.

I think the Arch de Triumph installation should be finished 3 Oct.

The OP is right to give a heads-up to those who are thinking of visiting Paris, because yes there is a lot of scaffolding. Many reasons have already been given (most notably, Notre Dame, and the reason for its scaffolding is of course evident).

Another reason why there is a lot of it, throughout France, and I daresay much of Europe, is that the Covid lockdowns have given an opportunity to do renovation work during a period when the number of visits are low.

In fact, a lot of restaurants and bars have done a lot of redecorating, even if it's just a lick of paint and a general refurbishment. When there are no patrons, one may as well do some work that was, prior to 2020, a vague project of "something that ought to be done at one point".

Of course, that goes for many historic buildings, but even ordinary ones.

To see the positive side, in a few months or so there should be a rather large number of clean, repainted, renovated buildings, and some nice new interiors of various restaurants and venues. More so than in any "normal" year up until now.