1. Visitors to Paris usually know the city as one of many things: romance, art, culture, food. Quirks isn’t usually one of them. And while the city may not seem as quirky as some, there are a few odd things you’ll find if you look closely enough, like this narrow Haussmannien building that looks as though it’s been cut in half.
2. Speaking of Haussman, before Emperor Napoleon III brought the city planner on, most of Paris looked like this: half-timbered houses can still be found in a handful of places, a mark of the city’s long history.
3. Evidence of the city’s history can also be found, quite appropriately, in the museum of the Middle Ages. Here, you’ll find the original heads of the statues in the Gallery of Kings on the front of Notre Dame. They were beheaded by French Revolutionaries in the 18th century and replaced during a 19th century renovation. It wasn’t until the 70s that the originals were discovered. You can still see some traces of the paint that they were once adorned with.
4. One old-school quirk of our former kings is that they loved to sign things: take a look at older buildings, like the Louvre, and you’ll see the insignias of our King Henris, Louises, and Francis. You’ll also see that the trend continued with both Napoleons.
5. We can end things on one modern quirk, particularly appropriate given the recent weather in Paris: even when it rains, café terraces remain open.