The square around Paris's city hall, the Hôtel de Ville, is much more than a purely bureaucratic area. It features one of the city's most renowned department stores, the BHV, and even turns into an ice-skating rink in the winter.

Our eco-friendly home show representative explains the benefits of cellulose wadding versus fiberglass, two insulation materials commonly used in houses.

In the last segment of this Il était une fois... episode on technology, we learn more about what vertical farms can do to help the planet thrive. The first commercial vertical farm recently opened in Singapore.

In this hilarious video, Allessandro Di Sarno decides to strip (nearly) naked to determine whether Parisians are really as jaded as he thinks they are. Luckily the only violence he suffers is at the hands of an elderly woman, who pokes him with her cane!

Whether you're a scholar, a budding writer, or just a casual beach reader, you'll find a lot to learn in Manon and Clémentine's lesson on book-related vocabulary. Using one of the most renowned works of French literature, In Search of Lost Time, as a guide, our two friends also recite their own poem on the future of the book. Happy reading!

Lionel and Chantal introduce a new verb, "faire du barbecue" (to barbecue), for barbecuing and verb conjugating novices. Lionel knows how to cook two birds with one grill, so to speak. Note that the verb "faire" ("to do" or "to make") is used for just about any situation in French.

The Maestro explains how the revolutionary ideas of the early discoverers, which we now take for granted, were not always well received. Before Galileo, for example, everyone believed that the sun and all the other planets revolved around the earth!

In his song "Le monde est beau" (The World Is Beautiful), Oldelaf's ironic take on social networking is bittersweet and not without humor.

Daniel Benchimol walks us through the "Coulée Verte," a peaceful passageway that cuts through Paris's twelfth arrondissement and offers a nice break from the hustle and bustle of city life. Along the Coulée Verte, you'll find a lot of green spaces, some art galleries and craft workshops, and even a nifty sundial!