Walk 13: Seizième Arrondissement Walk

Paris is divided into 2o arrondissements, kind of like large neighborhoods, each with their own feel. It's not uncommon, when receiving directions, or in asking where someone lives, to get a response that includes the number of the arrondissement. The sixteenth, where this walk is based, is upper-class, away from the major tourist attractions, and almost entirely residential.


I know, it's supposed to be in New York. Auguste Bartholdi, the guy who created the Statue of Liberty that we know, first made this one as a scale model. Actually, I've seen several statues of liberty since I've been here--another tiny one is in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Paris couldn't get enough Art Nouveau--a lot of the metro entrances are decorated in the style, and, in the seizieme, so are many of the buildings. Behold, Castel Beranger, an apartment building designed by Hector Guimard, the work of whom has left me completely smitten.


The Jardins du Ranelagh boasted bike paths, donkey rides, and this carousel, where kids ride horses and are given a tiny lance, like they're jousting, and have to try to hook their lance through a small ring along the edge of the carousel. There was probably something historical in the park that I was supposed to notice, but this was just so much more fun to photograph.