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| Travel Guide 2 > Europe > France > Towns and Cities > Paris |
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city is located in the Île-de-France region on the river Seine and has an estimated population of 2,153,600 as of 2005.
Paris is an extremely popular tourist destination and is visited by approximately 30 million foreign tourists each year. There are numerous places to see in place including the Arc de Triomphe, the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, the Champs-Elysées, the Eiffel Tower, the Grande Arche, the Invalides, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Notre Dame cathedral, the Opéra Garnier and the Panthéon.
Additionally, another place you will want to see, especially if you have a family is Disneyland Resort Paris. This is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town suburb, approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the center of the city. The resort includes:
- Two theme parks - Disneyland Park (the main Disney park, based on
Disneyland California, with five
"lands" each based on a different theme or time period), and Walt Disney Studios Park
(a theme park based on film and how movies are made).
- An entertainment district - Disney Village - containing shops, bars and restaurants.
- Golf Disneyland - A Disney-themed golf course, principally for adult visitors
but also with a children's section.
- Seven Disney-owned hotels.
Key Facts about Paris
Arc de Triomphe:
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- Paris is the capital and largest city of
France.
- Paris is located in
the Île-de-France region on the river Seine.
- Paris had
an estimated population of 2,153,600 as of
2005.
- Paris is an extremely popular tourist destination and is visited by approximately 30 million
foreign tourists each year.
- There are numerous places of interest, historic sites, and tourist attractions in Paris,
including, perhaps most famously, the
Eiffel Tower.
- The Disneyland Resort Paris
is also within easy reach of the city. It is located in
Marne-la-Vallée, a new town suburb,
approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the center of the Paris
- Archaeological digs have revealed that the earliest permanent settlements in
the Paris area, were probably around 4500 BCE.
- A Celtic tribe, the Parisii, inhabited the area from around 250 BCE. They
are known to have constructed a settlement at Île de la Cité
(a natural island in the River Seine in Paris).
- The Romans conquered the area in 52 BCE. The Roman settlement built in the area,
which eventually grew to beconme a prosperous city,
was known as Lutetia or Lutetia Parisorum. This later became known as Lutèce.
- Julian (331 to 363), Prefect of the Gauls, proclaimed himself Roman Emperor in
Île de la Cité in 360. Julian remained in Paris until his death in 363,
effectively making Paris de facto capital of the Western Roman Empire during this period.
- With the collapse of the Roman Empire, Paris was largely abandoned, but Clovis the Frank,
first Merovingian dynasty, made Paris his capital in 508.
- The Carolingans moved the Frankish capital to
Aachen,
but in 987 AD, Hugh Capet, count of Paris, was elected King of France, and Paris
again became the capital of France.
- During the Hundred Years War, Paris was occupied by the English, and for a time
lost its position as French capital. However, after French victory in the war,
the French capital again returned to Paris.
- Paris was the scene of many of the important events of the French Revolution (from 1789),
as well the coup by Napoleonn which established the French Consulate, and later, the First
French Empire.
- During the Franco-Prussian War (1870 to 1871), Paris was beseiged by the Prussians.
After the war, it was also the scene of an attempted revolution, the Paris Commune,
which was bloodily suppressed by the French army.
- In 1889, the Eiffel Tower
opened in Paris. It was built for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair
held in the city.
- The first Paris Métro Line (underground railway line) opened in
1900,
to coincide with the 1900 Universal Exposition (another World's Fair held in Paris).
- During World War I, the advancing Germans came to within earshot of the city in
1914, before
being driven back by Anglo-French forces at the First Battle of the Marne.
- In World War II, Paris was occupied by the Germans from
June 1940 until
August 1944.
Central Paris survived the war relatively unscathed, as the Allies mostly only bombed
targets in the suburbs, and the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz refused to obey
direct orders from Adolf Hitler ordering the destruction of the city
(Dietrich von Choltitz is sometimes known as the "Saviour of Paris" for this action).
- Since World War II, parts of Paris have suffered from deindustrialization, whilst other parts have shifted their economies to high-value services and high technology. In 2007, then French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, launched a massive urban renewal project known as Grand Paris, aimed better integrating the city and improving its economy.
Attractions and Places of Interest in Paris
Some attractions and places of interest in and near Paris include:
- Arc de Triomphe in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées in Paris
- Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
- Champs-Élysées
- Disneyland Paris just outside Paris in Marne-la-Vallée
- Eiffel Tower
- Louvre Museum
- Notre Dame Cathedral
- Palace of Versailles in Versailles, a suburb of Paris
Weather in Paris
For current weather information, we recommend:
Related Links
Related Links:
- Da Vinci Code Tour
(Advertisement)
- Louvre Guided Tour
(Advertisement)
- Paris Museum & Sightseeing Pass
The Paris Pass is a sightseeing card which gives holders FREE ENTRY to over 60 sights and tourist attractions in Paris. Some of the most popular attractions which can be visited free with the Paris Pass are the Louvre Museum, the Arc de Triomphe, a Seine river cruise, an open top bus sightseeing tour, the Grevin Wax Museum and the Palace of Versailles - to name but a few.
(Advertisement)
Books about Paris
Here are some books about Paris:
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