La Défense

Quartier des Affaires

After spending nearly two weeks living in the Quartier Latin and exploring the older, more central parts of Paris - the Cité, even Montmartre, one gets used to a certain characteristic architecture. Four-storeyed buildings, ornate façades, and grand doors leading to quaint little paved courtyards. All the streets begin to look the same.

La Défense, the Parisian equivalent of downtown, is situated to the north-east of the city, and provides a refreshing contrast to this stereotypical image. It lies at one end of line 1 of the Metro, and is also accessible via RER (Réseau Express Route). The area's most striking feature is the huge glass-and-steel Arc de La Défense, which lies at the end of the Champs-Elysées in the same line as the other two arcs of Paris - L'Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the courtyard of the Louvre, and L'Arc de Triomphe de L'Etoile. Beyond lie industrial areas, the vast suburbs that the Parisian mind dismisses as Les Banlieues.

The arch is surrounded by office buildings - skyscrapers à l'américaine housing telecommunications companies and multinational firms. A beautifully lit pool, right next to the metro station, marks the beginning of a long, straight walkway that leads through several examples of contemporary architecture (occasionally reminiscent of MIT's notorious Stata Center) to the foot of the arch. Despite the freshness of the architecture and the obvious care that has gone into planning and design, the area sometime seems curiously devoid of the vibrance that animates Paris. Oh well. We return to our headquarters with another tale to tell.