Central heating was more common in buildings built in the 50s-80s. The only places I know of with district heating are university and government campuses. It wa

Central heating was more common in buildings built in the 50s-80s. The only places I know of with district heating are university and government campuses. It was popular then because it was more efficient than wood burning fireplaces. But has since been replaced with in-unit gas boilers. Our apartment, a 60s era building, had central heating. It put out plenty of heat. I would say far too much heat. We ran into the problem that central heating isn't distributed evenly. Some apartments get lots of heat and some get far too little. Apartments at the top and near the bottom floors were the worst. We've actually had to crack the windows during the winter or we would have roasted. > It didn't help that my hosts put things in front of the radiators, I assume they were using them to dry clothes? If that is the case we are also guilty of this as well. Clothes dryers still aren't common in the city. It appears the problem wasn't central heating but your hosts. Radiators don't pump out heat they radiate it. I would bet the building pipes weren't being maintained nor were the radiators. Paris water is really hard. If you don't descale them regularly the pipes will get blocked with lime. And it is really evident when water comes out in a trickle.