Book Description
Le Flaneur, the turn-of-the-century French term for the urban stroller, the street wanderer -- an intellectual with plenty of leisure time to idly traverse the byways of the city, drifting from one quarter to another, making discoveries, meeting old acquaintances, making new ones. It remains the best way to see Paris. This volume of photography is a memoir of numerous walks through the French capital by some great photographers, who set out, like le flaneur, to capture by chance something they had never seen before. These images map and re-map the desired paths and favourite landmarks of one of the most photographed cities in the world, reprinting classic shots from the last two hundred years -- right up to the present day. They poignantly evoke the bars, the cafes, the architecture, the parks and, of course, the vibrancy of the people. Turning the pages is like taking a walk through the history of the city, noting the changes and those elements that are forever Paris -- the tree-lined boulevards, the dimly lit bistros, the narrow passages, and the banks of the River Seine.
