If you judge a city by the quality of its walks, then there is one city that must reign supreme — not just as a place to flâner, but as the very birthplace of flânerie itself. Paris.
To walk in Paris is not just to move through space, but to step into a palimpsest where every street, every courtyard, every passage is layered with centuries of thought, rebellion, poetry, and seduction. It is a city that does not merely permit wandering but demands it. One does not stroll in Paris. One converses with ghosts, eavesdrops on history, brushes against the edges of revolutions, romances, and existential crises.
Madrid may be a great book, but Paris is a vast, ever-expanding library, where every return visit yields new discoveries, where every deviation from the usual route unveils an unsuspected treasure.
Why is Paris the ultimate city for walking? Because it is designed for it. Not by an algorithm, not by an urban planner with a fetish for symmetry, but by centuries of errant poets, anarchists, dreamers, and rogues. The boulevards of Haussmann may seem like a counterpoint to the labyrinthine medieval streets, but together they create a perfect tension — order and improvisation, symmetry and surprise.
It is a city where the Seine is not a mere river but a ribbon of philosophy, dividing the mind (the Right Bank) from the soul (the Left Bank). It is a place where a wrong turn might lead you to the house where Baudelaire despaired, the café where Sartre pontificated, or the bench where Proust recalled a childhood madeleine.
Paris is fractal in the most Parisian way — both highly structured and endlessly unpredictable. The grand perspectives of the Champs-Élysées lead to the hidden alleys of the Marais, the dizzying avenues of Montmartre wind down into forgotten courtyards and secret staircases. A flâneur in Paris is not merely a wanderer but an archaeologist of the ephemeral.
And if a city is truly great for walking, it must be able to reinvent itself with each passerby. Here, the same street walked in the morning is different by twilight; the same bridge crossed in solitude at dawn is transformed by the lovers who lean on it at night.
To walk in Paris is to understand why Balzac, Hugo, Colette, Benjamin, and Debord wrote about it the way lovers write about lost embraces. It is to understand why Walter Benjamin called it “the capital of the 19th century” — and why, despite the global homogenisation of cities, Paris remains stubbornly and deliciously itself.
You don’t read “The Brothers Karamazov” in one sitting? Fair enough. But Paris is a novel you will never finish reading.
Paris is on another level in terms of urban planning! I love it in theory. You might be right. I wanted to write about it, but I’ve never been to Paris… My resistance has to do with my expectations; they’re too high. It’s been overhyped for decades but frankly for the wrong reasons. I prefer not to visit it right now for I don’t have the courage to treat it as it deserves…but one day I will!
You are playing a dangerous game here — the perilous art of deferring Paris.
You are not wrong to fear the weight of expectation. Paris has crushed the dreams of many who came looking for a postcard and found instead a city that refuses to play along. But let me tell you a secret: Paris is not overhyped. It is misunderstood. And it always has been.
Those who are disappointed by Paris are those who come looking for a pristine stage set, a neatly curated fantasy, a city that exists solely to confirm their assumptions. They arrive with Instagram filters in their eyes and leave grumbling about cigarette smoke, indifferent waiters, and overpriced coffee. They forget that Paris does not exist to please you. It never has. Paris is not a spectacle to be consumed, it is a force to be reckoned with.
You are wise to wait. Not because Paris is unworthy of you — but because it deserves to be met on its own terms, not yours. Paris does not welcome the hesitant, it seduces the bold. It belongs not to those who come looking for a dream, but to those willing to be surprised, provoked, and even occasionally bruised by its reality.
And make no mistake: Paris will disappoint you at first. It will test you. It will laugh at your expectations and throw rain on your carefully planned walks. But if you are patient — if you let the city whisper rather than demand it sing — you will find that the overhyped Paris, the Paris of clichés, was never the real Paris at all.
One day, when you feel reckless enough, come! But don’t come looking for the Paris you think you know. Come prepared to meet the one you don’t :)
Hi Vizi! I’m from Spain, and I completely agree—Barcelona is quite boring to walk around (I know this firsthand since I lived there for three years). In contrast, cities with an Arabic-style layout, like my hometown of Córdoba, are fantastic for exploring. It’s easy to get lost, but that’s part of the charm. Countries like Morocco and Turkey also have great cities for wandering.
200% recommended. One of my favorite cities in Spain. Also in the north of Spain are really nice for this (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country). Don't hesitate to ask me if you need any advice :)
If you judge a city by the quality of its walks, then there is one city that must reign supreme — not just as a place to flâner, but as the very birthplace of flânerie itself. Paris.
To walk in Paris is not just to move through space, but to step into a palimpsest where every street, every courtyard, every passage is layered with centuries of thought, rebellion, poetry, and seduction. It is a city that does not merely permit wandering but demands it. One does not stroll in Paris. One converses with ghosts, eavesdrops on history, brushes against the edges of revolutions, romances, and existential crises.
Madrid may be a great book, but Paris is a vast, ever-expanding library, where every return visit yields new discoveries, where every deviation from the usual route unveils an unsuspected treasure.
Why is Paris the ultimate city for walking? Because it is designed for it. Not by an algorithm, not by an urban planner with a fetish for symmetry, but by centuries of errant poets, anarchists, dreamers, and rogues. The boulevards of Haussmann may seem like a counterpoint to the labyrinthine medieval streets, but together they create a perfect tension — order and improvisation, symmetry and surprise.
It is a city where the Seine is not a mere river but a ribbon of philosophy, dividing the mind (the Right Bank) from the soul (the Left Bank). It is a place where a wrong turn might lead you to the house where Baudelaire despaired, the café where Sartre pontificated, or the bench where Proust recalled a childhood madeleine.
Paris is fractal in the most Parisian way — both highly structured and endlessly unpredictable. The grand perspectives of the Champs-Élysées lead to the hidden alleys of the Marais, the dizzying avenues of Montmartre wind down into forgotten courtyards and secret staircases. A flâneur in Paris is not merely a wanderer but an archaeologist of the ephemeral.
And if a city is truly great for walking, it must be able to reinvent itself with each passerby. Here, the same street walked in the morning is different by twilight; the same bridge crossed in solitude at dawn is transformed by the lovers who lean on it at night.
To walk in Paris is to understand why Balzac, Hugo, Colette, Benjamin, and Debord wrote about it the way lovers write about lost embraces. It is to understand why Walter Benjamin called it “the capital of the 19th century” — and why, despite the global homogenisation of cities, Paris remains stubbornly and deliciously itself.
You don’t read “The Brothers Karamazov” in one sitting? Fair enough. But Paris is a novel you will never finish reading.
P.S. yes, I’m very biased. It’s my city.
Paris is on another level in terms of urban planning! I love it in theory. You might be right. I wanted to write about it, but I’ve never been to Paris… My resistance has to do with my expectations; they’re too high. It’s been overhyped for decades but frankly for the wrong reasons. I prefer not to visit it right now for I don’t have the courage to treat it as it deserves…but one day I will!
You are playing a dangerous game here — the perilous art of deferring Paris.
You are not wrong to fear the weight of expectation. Paris has crushed the dreams of many who came looking for a postcard and found instead a city that refuses to play along. But let me tell you a secret: Paris is not overhyped. It is misunderstood. And it always has been.
Those who are disappointed by Paris are those who come looking for a pristine stage set, a neatly curated fantasy, a city that exists solely to confirm their assumptions. They arrive with Instagram filters in their eyes and leave grumbling about cigarette smoke, indifferent waiters, and overpriced coffee. They forget that Paris does not exist to please you. It never has. Paris is not a spectacle to be consumed, it is a force to be reckoned with.
You are wise to wait. Not because Paris is unworthy of you — but because it deserves to be met on its own terms, not yours. Paris does not welcome the hesitant, it seduces the bold. It belongs not to those who come looking for a dream, but to those willing to be surprised, provoked, and even occasionally bruised by its reality.
And make no mistake: Paris will disappoint you at first. It will test you. It will laugh at your expectations and throw rain on your carefully planned walks. But if you are patient — if you let the city whisper rather than demand it sing — you will find that the overhyped Paris, the Paris of clichés, was never the real Paris at all.
One day, when you feel reckless enough, come! But don’t come looking for the Paris you think you know. Come prepared to meet the one you don’t :)
I love Paris and I love Flâneuse by Lauren Elkin. A must read for anyone who loves this posting.
Hi Vizi! I’m from Spain, and I completely agree—Barcelona is quite boring to walk around (I know this firsthand since I lived there for three years). In contrast, cities with an Arabic-style layout, like my hometown of Córdoba, are fantastic for exploring. It’s easy to get lost, but that’s part of the charm. Countries like Morocco and Turkey also have great cities for wandering.
Great observation! All towns from the south (of Spain) must be spectacular 🫡 Córdoba is on my list; what about Granada? Do you recommend it?
200% recommended. One of my favorite cities in Spain. Also in the north of Spain are really nice for this (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country). Don't hesitate to ask me if you need any advice :)
Spirited writing. You have inspired me to judge cities based on their flâneur-ability.
I have to suggest London as an incredible city to walk around, if you learn to dodge the rush hour and tourist zones.
Gracias mon friend
New York, Amsterdam, Belgrade! also Athens, (agree) Madrid, even London
Another great walking mind : Charles Darwin.