La Roue
Est. 1898 · Quai de la Tournelle
01 / NIGHT

Sixteen thousand bulbs

Replaced in 2014 with warm-white LEDs that flicker at 0.4 hertz — slow enough to read as breathing.

02 / RIDE

Twenty-two minutes

One full turn, rising to the top at the halfway mark, where the whole city arranges itself below you in lights.

03 / NIGHT

Closed in wind

Above 45 km/h the wheel stops and stays stopped. It has been stopped more often than it has run.