A Renowned Vacation Destination Transforms Visitor Street Experiences

For most travelers, a vacation to Paris is a lifelong dream. The twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower and the magnificent architecture draw millions of tourists to the City of Love every year. Plus, Paris has some of the most luxurious hotels you could imagine. But, due to a recent referendum, the landscape of Parisian streets may soon change. According to The World, voters in Paris have agreed on a measure to eliminate cars from at least 500 streets in the French capital. It’s part of an ongoing effort by the city’s current mayor, Anne Hidalgo, to reduce air pollution from road congestion in favor of more walkable areas. These efforts have been underway for several years, with limited traffic zones introduced in the city center, stretches of highway converted to pedestrian promenades, and the addition of cycling lanes on major roads. This new measure seems like a concentrated push to fully pedestrianize large parts of the city.

While it’s yet to be decided which of the 500 streets will become car-free zones (via The Travel), this new initiative will likely change your experience of Paris. If you’re someone who relies on taxis to get around while sightseeing in a foreign city, this might mean higher fares if taxis have to skirt around streets where vehicles are banned (though you might want to avoid taxis in Paris anyway, since tourist scams are common). Fewer cars might also mean cleaner air and quieter streets that will be more enjoyable for walking from one place to the next, allowing you to truly appreciate the iconic Parisian boulevards. And with the increase in cycling lanes, renting a bike could be a fun way to explore the city at a leisurely pace, especially if you’re not keen on navigating the often crowded and hectic Paris metro system.

Despite the gradual transformation of Paris into a more walkable city, it isn’t the first tourist destination to have no-car zones. The historic center of Florence in Italy has implemented limited traffic zones since the 1990s, with most piazzas completely pedestrian-only, making the Tuscan capital’s cobbled streets easily navigable by walking or cycling. Barcelona in Spain has also introduced pedestrian zones, diverting cars to the outer edges of city blocks with the interior streets limited to foot traffic and cyclists. These “superblocks” have made way for spacious tree-lined promenades bustling with recreational areas like parks with outdoor seating and playgrounds for children, turning congested roads into cozy community spaces. Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, has also invested in pedestrianized zones, where the removal of cars from streets has enhanced the atmosphere of outdoor public spaces and allowed local businesses to flourish.

While it’s no small task going from a gridlocked metropolis to a walkable sprawl, much of Mayor Hidalgo’s ambitions to make Paris a greener city have come to fruition. More than 200 roads around Paris have already been designated no-car zones, and a whopping 10,000 parking areas have been removed since 2020. The push towards incorporating cycle paths has also seen a 71% rise in bicycle use within the capital. Of course, no change comes without complaints. An uptick in road rage incidents has been reported due to confrontations between drivers and cyclists. Taxi drivers in particular have bemoaned the car-free initiatives for worsening congestion, meaning fewer fares for them. However, the director of the Clean Cities campaign in France, who is a proponent of the Parisian mayor’s green initiatives, has noted that “every Parisian is quite conscious … that the overall quality of life has improved” (via The World).