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Paris was not destroyed by air raids in WWII: So the cityscape of Paris is pretty much the same than a hundred years ago. Characteristic for Paris are the "Haussmann"-building (five/six-floor high buildings; very beautiful 19th-century-architecture...)
Nevertheless you'll find a lot of modern architecture in Paris: the glass Pyramide at the Louvre, the Opera de Bastille, the Institute of the Arab World, the contemporary art museum Centre Pompidou, the business quarter La Défense, the Museum Quai Branly, the renovated Grand Palais, the Musée d'Orsay.
Parisian streets' architecture is very harmonious (some even say monotonous...), you'll find a lot of broad boulevards and avenues which often cross at big round-abouts, which are often historic and iconic places (Place Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, République, Bastille, Nation, Place de Clichy, Trocadéro)
Berlin, on the other hand, was completely destroyed and so there aren't many historical buildings except the more important monuments (Brandenburg Gate, the "Rotes Rathaus" - the "Red City Hall", Gendarmenmarkt, Berliner Dom). You'll find boulevards in Berlin, too. these are often even broader than in Paris: Unter den Linden, Straße des 17. Juni, Friedrichstraße, Karl-Marx-Allee).
After the War, the two Berlins (West and East) were rebuild substantially in the 50s, 60s and 70s: Most buildings you'll see in Berlin are from this period and therefore more "pragmatic" than spectacular. nevertheless, Berlin has some ionic monuments from that era: the former communist's beacon "Alexanderturm", a over 300 m high tower next to the old centre of East Berlin or the "Kongresshalle" (sometimes also called "Fette Auster" - the "Fat Oyster").
You should not forget that the border between the West and the East cut Berlin in two halfs. The Wall and the surrounding "Death Strip" (the demilitarised zone on the western side and the under military surveillance kept Eastern side) build a broad belt where for over 40 years nothing was built, right through the heart of the German capital.
After reunification in 1990 and the destruction of the Berlin wall, Berlin got a new and completely "empty" city centre - a great chance for urbanist experiments! Next to the "Reichstag" (the German Parliament - a 19th century building with a modern glass dome) the new "Government District" was built with the "Federal Chancellery" and the parliamental administration buildings: all these buildings are very modern and straight 90s and 2000s architecture (see links).
In the very nearby you'll have the new "Central Station" Lehrter Bahnhof, which was inaugurated in 2006. Go southwards from the government district and you'll arrive at Potsdamer Platz, a very new quarter with very contemporary architecture (Sony Plaza, etc.) Around the Potsdamer Platz and all over the city you'll find a lot of new embassies which often are very modern architecture, too.
Most people think Paris is the "more beautiful" city (= traditional, romantic, picturesque...), while Berlin is the "more exciting" one (= vibrant, changing, contemporary).
Well, concerning the people (as a German I'm a bit biased...) I would say that Germans and French share a lot of similarities but still are very different.
It is true, that Germany is very organised and clean (compared to Paris the streets in Berlin - which aren't even the best in Germany! - are very clean), still you'll experience a lot of chaos in Berlin which you wouldn't experience in Paris!
I'd say, as I live in Paris, the French are more polite than the Germans, especially the Berliners which have a reputation of being the rudest people in Germany.
French really do love food, and Germans really care about their cars, but I think it would be wrong to generalise here: attitudes are changing in both countries and you'll see that everyone is a nice and friendly person when you start to brabble some words in German, respectively French. Most of us (now I talk about Germans as well as about French) know at least some words and phrases in English, so communication shouldn't be a big problem!
Stereotypes which pretend to "describe" these two people are worthless, as there are already huge differences between the different parts of Germany or of France: people from Southern Germany are completely different to people from Berlin or Hamburg, the same with Parisians and people from the Côte d'Azur!
To lpkm: these comments just show a lack of knowledge. Yes, there are a lot of muslims in France, but that's the same in Germany (Berlin's Turkish community makes it the third Turkish city after Istanbul and Ankara!). There are issues concerning these minorities in both countries but at the same time most of these immigrants successfully integrate into their respective societies. And you're right: these societies are changing drastically, BUT they do it just like all other societies in Europe at the moment!
Excuse my English, please! I hope I could help you! (^_^) |
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