Paris is a Northern European town I think and it’s a disaster in terms of noise. Those damned 2 cycle scooters for instance. And dog poop and trash and people pissing wherever they feel like. And it’s expensive. Paris is an overrated nightmare.
Paris feels much more like a western European city, and France is definitely not considered northern European, at least if northern European is a synonym for Scandanavian.
Also thanks for adding data to this discussion, I am surprised Copenhagen ranks so low. But the neighborhoods I'm familiar with (Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Frederiksberg) definitely feel more dense than your typical North American city. The majority of housing is mid-rise, with lots of street-level retail.
And Copenhagen isn’t really that dense. It’s ranked 117th in the world — just under New Orleans and above Montreal: http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/largest-cities-density-...