Paris Weather

( Originally Published Early 1900's )

It is not the weather but the "Paris Basin" which is to be blamed. If the Seine, in those prehistoric times, had not wandered about and cut down all the softer stone to the present level of its banks; and if the harder stone of the Butte Montmartre, the Butte Chaumont, Belleville, and the rest had not resisted, but had allowed the river to produce a plain, there would not today be so much mist and rain.

That is what they say, and then they point to the outer rim of hills, St Cloud and Sèvres and the Mont Valérien, and explain that they intensify the situation. Then they add that perhaps the Eiffel Tower, as a radio station, with its constant excitement of the upper regions, is somewhat to blame.

But all sorts of weather in Paris only enhance its qualities, however they may affect your comfort. A Paris mist is something to remember; a clear day with an Italian sky brings out another aspect.

If you want to get the most beautiful sense of Paris, study it on a moonlight night about twelve. You will get an architectural view such as you never dreamed of. Go to the Place Palais Royal and look up the rue de Rivoli. Go across to the Ile de St Louis and look at the Louvre. Go over to the Left Bank and look at Notre-Dame.

Go anywhere in Paris and look at anything on such a night and you will understand why some of us stay here.