How big is Paris?
There are about eleven million people living in the Paris metropolitan area, and something over two million living within the city proper (which is confined to the area within the boulevard périphérique, the expressway that completely encircles the city). This means that Paris has roughly the same population as Los Angeles. Paris is the largest city on the Continent and the second largest city in Europe (London is somewhat larger). Although Paris is similar to Los Angeles in terms of population, it is smaller in terms of area, especially when you look at the city proper, which is only a few kilometres wide. Paris was built before the era of automobiles, so everything had to be within walking distance, and this is why the city itself is so compact today (everything is still within walking distance). The suburbs, however, have expanded in the same sprawling way that one sees in Los Angeles.
