Top 10 Surprising Facts About Paris: That Go Beyond the Eiffel Tower

Discover a Side of Paris You’ve Never Seen Before

Paris is one of the most recognisable cities on the planet. Its skyline is etched into our minds with the Eiffel Tower rising above the rooftops, the Arc de Triomphe commanding the Champs-Élysées, and the Louvre guarding masterpieces beneath its glass pyramid. Yet for all its fame, Paris holds secrets—curious, quirky, and quietly astonishing facts that even many Parisians don’t know.

In Top 10 Surprising Facts About Paris That Go Beyond the Eiffel Tower, travel writer Barnaby Sorrens invites you to peel back the city’s polished exterior and look deeper into the Paris that lives between the landmarks. From ghost metro stations and pneumatic mail systems to sun-dials hidden on old stone facades and lighthouses in a landlocked capital, this book uncovers ten fascinating aspects of the French capital that are both bizarre and beautiful.

What You’ll Discover Inside:

• Why Paris only has one official stop sign despite being a bustling metropolis
• The surprising presence of multiple Statues of Liberty across the city—and their connection to the American original
• The scientific and cultural importance of the Paris Meridian, once rival to Greenwich
• The curious story behind how the Eiffel Tower was nearly built... in Barcelona
• How underground tunnels and ossuaries have created a second, hidden city beneath the streets
• Where you can find actual vineyards in Paris still producing wine today
• The long-forgotten postal system that still winds through the city via pneumatic tubes
• And much more from the city’s architectural oddities, historical quirks, and imaginative flair