PARIS, CITY OF THE FUTURE

Paris, where I live, is a mess right now. Roads are being pulled up and renovated ahead of next summer's Olympics. Schools, airports and museums have been disrupted by bomb threats, as Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish city lives in fear of importing the Gazan conflict. And we've just entered the annual five-month sunless stretch.

Pedestrians walk in front of the Eiffel tower, in Paris on December 5, 2023. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP