7 cities that don't have any cars

On September 27, 2015, Paris enforced its first ever car-free day.

In attempt to give Parisians a chance to experience a Paris sans the pollution and dangers of cars, vehicles were banned from certain parts of the city, including major destinations like around the Eiffel Tower, Champs Élysées, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Left Bank.

According to The Guardian, the chemical responsible for smog, nitrogen dioxide, dropped by 40 percent in parts of the city during the car-free ban.

The experiment definitely made us think about what it would be like to live in cities without any cars at all.

What would a city look like without the green, yellow and red hues that tint street corners at night? Without white and yellow stripes on the cement, and with the only lanes as bike lanes?

Well, actually, you don’t have to think too hard because cities that don’t allow cars actually exist. We take a look at seven of those awesome cities below:

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1. Giethoorn, Netherlands

In the Nordic town of Giethoorn, instead of roads, they have canals. Known as theVenice of the North, Giethoorn has become a huge attraction for tourists who want to enjoy the simpler pleasures of life, and who want to enjoy a destination with no cars.

The town was founded by a group of fugitives in 1230. When they stumbled across the land, they immediately noticed a pile of goat horns, presumably left from an area flood. So they named the area Giethoorn, “meaning goat horn.”

The remarkable feature of this town is the system of canals that the locals use for daily transportation. Colonists formed the canals when they discovered the abundance of peat in the area. Needing a way to access the peat, they carved out narrow waterways in which they could row their boats, and these waterways became the canals that make the town famous.

Today, boats with small electric motors float serenely through canals, providing daily transportation for the locals and tours for the visitors. In the winter, the canals freeze over and thousands of tourists flock to the area for excellent ice skating.

2. Mackinac Island, Michigan

Five hundred people live on Lake Huron’s Mackinac island permanently, but that number rises over the summer as tourists flood the northern Michigan resort town’s cottages and hotels. But, a reminder to all the visitors: no cars allowed.

The island outlawed motorized vehicles in 1898, so if you want to get anywhere now, you have to walk, ride a bike or hop in a horse-drawn buggy.

Before the ban, tourists brought cars to island, and it spooked the horses and ruined the sense of quiet that the residents of the peaceful island love. So, the townspeople banded together and banned cars. Now, the only cars that are on the island are solely there for emergency circumstances.

3. Hydra, Greece

In the Aegean Sea, between the Saronic and Argolic Gulfs, sits an island called Hydra. The main city, Hydra port, as it’s simply called, is the classic Greek town: white houses covering the hills of the area and a pure, clear ocean nearby.

What’s kept the island so pristine is its preservation law which doesn’t allow the installation of new buildings that would take away from the appearance of the town. On top of that, there are no cars in the town because the roads are too narrow and steep to drive on. So, Hydra is in much the same state as it was 50 years ago.

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