Reading Haussmann's Architecture

Modern Paris is the result of Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann bulldozing the medieval city in the 1850s to build wide, straight boulevards and standardized cream-colored stone buildings.

The Vertical Social Hierarchy

Before elevators, the social status of a building was vertical. The ground floor was commercial. The second floor (l'étage noble) had the highest ceilings, ornate balconies, and housed the wealthiest. As you moved up, ceilings got lower and occupants got poorer. The 6th floor under the roof (chambres de bonne) housed the servants.

The Zinc Roofs

The iconic grey roofs are made of zinc. They are cheap, weather-resistant, and entirely uninsulated, making top-floor apartments freezing in winter and boiling in summer.