4 Ways Students Can Explore Change on a School Trip to Paris

Change is an integral part of any great European city, but older cities can feel change in their bones quite differently. Students who visit Paris, given the opportunity, will begin to feel the way the city is adapting to the many changes it has recently faced, and in doing so they can learn a lot.

economic change

The changes that have been on everyone’s lips around the world are mainly economic. Students on a school trip to Paris, especially those focused on economics or business studies, will no doubt arrive with an idea that the city and its surroundings have been affected by the economic downturn. This is not news for such an ancient city, but the particularity and severity of the economic stress has forced citizens to adapt in recent years, sometimes sadly. It is sobering for students to visit the classic boulevards, old shopping malls, and burgeoning new suburbs and discover how Parisians have been forced to deal with financial insecurity and a bleak future.

Cultural change

Change is not always welcome. However, in fact, even unwanted changes give people new opportunities. Paris has long been a cultural icon and a beacon for many different people and their social tastes. Students on a school tour will note how the influx of new immigrants and the rise of new pockets of Parisian society have created new opportunities for the city’s cultural life to express itself around its classic old-world charm.

Change of identity

Paris has an aura of its own. It is one of those great cities that seems to stand apart even from the very nation it represents. Students on a school tour will be intrigued to delve into the heritage of the city’s identity, treasured and displayed in its many monuments, museums and charming terrace-lined avenues. But they can also learn how the identity of what it means to be a Parisian has changed. As the city grapples with changes in the way its residents live, work and interact in its broader urban area, it is adjusting to a new and broader concept of what it means to represent this vibrant and history-rich city.

atmospheric change

Strolling the wealthy avenues of St Michel, strolling across famous bridges as lights twinkle on historic buildings, breathing in the soft chatter of shops and cafes as the city settles into dusk: these are the moments that bring out the inherent beauty of the soul of paris But as the people of the city change and cope with change, it’s a unique moment for students on a school tour to wonder how the atmosphere of this great city will adapt in the years to come.