Greatest Cities of the World (Series 1) (2008)

Exploring a 24-hour day-in-the life of 3 of the Greatest Cities in the World, New York, London and Paris, Griff Rhys Jones is on a mission to find out what props up and forms each city’s key attributes. He leads us on a journey of rediscovery and of extraordinary surprise behind and inside the familiar. A visual treat from the outset, Griff finds out what really distinguishes each place by rolling his sleeves up and delving behind the scenes to uncover how the different cities works as living machines. Armed with his inimitable humour, boundless charm and relentless curiosity, Griff meets characters that epitomise the identity of each city, celebrates their intriguing contributions, and discovers countless astonishing secrets. Griff Rhys Jones uncovers the secrets of the city that never sleeps – New York. From the mile-wide Manhattan streets to the iconic skyscrapers via all the nooks and crannies in between, you’ll go on a voyage of discovery, finding out everything that makes this unique city tick. It’s the capital city of the United Kingdom and the largest urban area in our fair isle. But how much do you really know about it? In the second of our three-part series, Griff Rhys Jones spends 24 hours getting to know London like never before – from the traffic centre that keeps the city moving to the secret church beneath Parliament, and everything in between. The capital of France is home to just over two million people, the Eiffel Tower, over 70 museums and some of the world’s best art. Join Griff Rhys Jones as he spends a little time hanging out with the snipers appointed to protect the president and gets to work in the cloakroom of the Paris Opera House.