Every city is layered with history, recent or ancient, visible or hidden.  Dense packed city buildings layer flats (or apartments) above shops and offices, one home above another.  Roads are layered above metro lines, bridges above quaysides.  In Paris trees line riverside quays while an upper layer of streets run at tree top level.  Paris isn’t a very hilly city but there are still districts where streets bridge each other at different levels and pedestrian staircases link the different layers.  Every one of these photos is a partial selection from a layered view.

 

Riverside quays on Île St Louis
Crossing the Seine on Passerelle Debilly and passing underneath on a river boat
The three layered Pont de Bercy – there’s a bike track under the metro line, a road either side and the riverside quays beneath
Above and below ground at Port Royal station
Montmartre steps – August 2017
Trees and buildings line the street above a quayside cement works while a barge waits on the river below
Looking down on a cyclist on rue Pierre Semard from the bridge on rue de Bellefond
The Promenade Plantée crosses a road on an old railway bridge and dives through the layers of a housing block – there’s a layer of shops and offices below the bridge
Layered balconies in St Germain
Layered reflections on rue de Vulpian
Layers of history in a stone wall in rue Rataud
Layered rooftops in the Marais

Click on any photo to view the gallery

A collection inspired by City Sonnet’s Photo a Day challenge Layers