The new hotness in Paris? Pantin!

Really interesting. On a February 2017 trip to Paris my wife and I took a Paris Greeters tour of Pantin and the 19th. It was fun and memorable and hit on a lot of what was in that article. I encourage anyone interested in something different to consider the Greeters.

Thanks, Mike. Very interesting, I love anything by Roger Cohen.

I read this article this morning but I do not particularly agree with the idea of "greater Paris". There is Paris, but outside the 20 arrondissements, it is not Paris. The Parisians call the area immediately outside of the 20 arrondissements "La Petite Couronne". Outside Paris, La Petite Couronne, is completely different, ask any Parisian. It might be Montrouge, Neuilly, St Denis, or any other neighborhood, but Paris - it is not.

The idea of "greater Paris" is completely ridiculous.

Fifty years ago the trendy Canal Saint Martin was a dump lined with empty warehouses, broken vehicles, and only the famous Hotel du Nord of interest. No cafes, no shops, just a warehouse district. Next to it was the still bombed out 19th. But they both came to life. Just to the north lies patin. We have close friends who’ve lived in Patin for thirty-five years. I’m sure more obstacles exist today in Patin to bring it to the level of the 9th or 19th but places do evolve as populations change. At the same time, parts of the 14th hardly seem like Paris anymore.

The idea of greater Paris is just the same idea that any urban area has . . .

Pantin by the canal is indeed much improved.
Not to the point where it should feature on a tourist's itinerary, but it is a pleasant day out these days: biergartens, canalside cafés, good biking, the possibility to rent an electric boat (in Paris-La Villette) and potter around...

For one of our recent trips to Paris I did some research into the area surrounding Parc de Villette (mentioned in the interesting article), because we were taking our six year-old along with us. This area looked to have a lot of green spaces and activities that would appeal to a kid as well as her grownups. It struck me as a massive public works project of recent years, nothing wrong with that. We didn't end up going to this area, but it has stuck in my mind for future possibilities.