Ten facts you definitely didn't know about Paris

You might think you know the City of Light, but think again. Here are ten zany facts about Paris that we'd wager even the locals don't know. From terraces to condom machines - our friends behind the Smarter Paris app have found some wacky stats.

A view of the streets of Paris from the Arc de Triomphe

1. All the trees in Paris are referenced and measured. And there are 470,000 of them.

 

 

2. There are 181 places in the city where you can get an espresso for €1. Even better, there's a map to help you find them. 

3. Open terraces. If you were to spend each day of your life in Paris visiting a different open terrace (of a bar, cafe, or restaurant), then it would take you 29.8 years to see them all (and who knows how many new ones will open in that time!). Yes, there are 9,057 of them.

 

Photo: A cafe called Les deux magots in central Paris. 

 

4. There are 31 street condom vending machines in Paris, provided by the Town Hall. And in case you're in a tight spot, here is a map to all of them.

 

5. In the whole of Paris, there is only one stop sign, "situated at the exit of a building company in the rich 16th arrondissement". The traffic system in Paris is mainly based on giving way to those coming from the right. 

 

 

Hint: This is not the only stop sign in Paris. 

 

6. The bell in the Notre Dame Cathedral weighs over 13 tonnes. And it's called Emmanuel.

 

 

7. There are 6,100 streets in Paris. How many have you walked down?

 

 

8. The shortest street in the city - at just 5.75 metres, Rue des Degrés, in the 2nd arrondissement.

 

In the central 2nd arrondissement, this Rue is nothing more than a staircase. 

 

9. If you like baguettes then you're in the right city because there are1,784 bakeries in Paris. 

 

 

10: And there's plenty of bars too, although not as many as bakeries. In fact there's 1,124 bars in the city at your disposal. 

 

There are plenty of places to grab a drink in the Latin Quarter of Paris