It’s been more than a year since we were able to travel freely. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and some day we really will be able to pack our bags and reach for our passports again. While we wait, our local agents remind us of what we’re missing.
The first signs of summer are in the air in Paris with frosty mornings giving way to brilliant blue skies. The light is beautiful, flowers are blooming across the city’s parks and with no cars parked along the Seine, Parisians have space to enjoy leisurely riverside walks.
A year on from the first lockdown, Paris resembles a provincial town more than the global city we all know and there is much that is agréable about this. The lack of traffic means an easy daily commute to my office and the usual bustle has been replaced by a certain peacefulness. Walking past Notre-Dame today I felt as though the entire city stands in solidarity with our beloved cathedral, currently shrouded in renovation works after the terrible 2019 fire.
However Paris, like all the best global cities, is a magnificent platform for commercial, social and cultural activity and the millions of tourists and businesspeople who come every year bring an incredible energy, something I miss very much. Thanks to its Latin heritage, Paris is an ongoing spectacle that takes place on every street: we love to sit outside a café watching life pass by, a marvellous mix of nationalities, languages and style. I look forward to its return.
I also miss the choices that living in such a great city provides. In normal times, Paris offers a wonderful capacity to improvise, a thrilling platform to connect with people and culture. You could choose to visit the Louvre, tour the latest exhibition, meet friends in a favourite bistro or roof-top bar, jog through the Bois de Boulogne or shop on the Left Bank. I look forward to the time once more when I can wake up at the weekend and freely make that choice.
The absence of international clients has made the property market quieter, most noticeably at the top end in prime homes over €4,000,000. However, Paris is fortunate to have both strong international and domestic demand and this makes it remarkably resilient. Despite the impact of Covid on the economy, property prices in Paris have seen only a very slight decrease. The French like to invest in property and in uncertain times that becomes even more important.
Just as in other global cities, Covid presented an opportunity for Parisians to reset their lifestyles with a clear trend to move away from the centre. Young families, for example, have found that homes with gardens in the western suburbs offer almost twice as much space for their money as the centre.
This does not mean that central Paris will be forgotten though as there will always be a desire for a city base. The central neighbourhoods of the 1st to 8th arrondissements remain in high demand headed by Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 6th and Le Marais in the 3rd and 4th. These areas are close to the river, filled with beautiful carved stone buildings, historic architecture and, best of all, have the benefits of the 15-minute city with shops, work, culture, home and leisure all on hand.
For millennials and regular visitors this is perhaps the ultimate luxury, with no need for public transport and providing plenty of local markets and places to meet friends. The seductive pillars of Parisian life, culture, beauty, romance and gastronomy are all an easy walk or bike ride away.
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Contact Hugues de La Morandière
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