Oscar De La Huerte answered
In the battle between two of Europe's biggest cities, London comes out victorious, if we're measuring the size of the heavily populated urban areas. If we look at the greater metropolitan area, then Paris takes the prize.
So which is bigger? London or Paris?
The first thing I'd consider when comparing the size of two cities is their land area. Urban Paris sits on a very respectable 105.4 km2 (40.7 sq mi) of land, but its European neighbor London occupies a massive 1,570 km2 (607 sq mi) - well over 10 times more!
One complication of this exercise is in determining exactly what constitutes a city. Whilst the above measurements are of what are considered to be urban city areas, both of these sit in larger 'metropolitan areas'.
If we're looking to include the metropolitan areas, then the two cities switch roles - with London extending to 8,382 square kilometres (3,236 sq mi), whilst Paris sits in a larger rural area of 17,175 km2 (6,631 sq mi).
One complication of this exercise is in determining exactly what constitutes a city. Whilst the above measurements are of what are considered to be urban city areas, both of these sit in larger 'metropolitan areas'.
If we're looking to include the metropolitan areas, then the two cities switch roles - with London extending to 8,382 square kilometres (3,236 sq mi), whilst Paris sits in a larger rural area of 17,175 km2 (6,631 sq mi).
Difficulties involved in measuring the size of a city
One major hitch I had in working out which of the two cities was larger was caused by how each city defines its geographical limits.
For example, the 'City of London' accounts for only a small portion of what is considered to be London. The area that uses the postal code of London is different from the area that uses the London phone area code (020) and, whilst many people draw the city limits at the M25 ring road that circles London, others go on to include the huge commuter belt that surrounds the city and extends into Kent, Hertfordshire, Essex and Berkshire.
For example, the 'City of London' accounts for only a small portion of what is considered to be London. The area that uses the postal code of London is different from the area that uses the London phone area code (020) and, whilst many people draw the city limits at the M25 ring road that circles London, others go on to include the huge commuter belt that surrounds the city and extends into Kent, Hertfordshire, Essex and Berkshire.
