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Revision as of 11:36, 4 August 2002
- Paris redirects here. For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation).
Paris is the capital and largest city of France, and the number one tourist destination in the world. The city is built on an arc of the river Seine, and is thus divided into two parts: the right bank to the north and the smaller left bank in the south.
The city proper has about 2 million residents. The Greater Paris metropolitan area has about 14 million residents.
History
It was named after the Gallic Parisii tribe.
Administration
The city of Paris is itself a département (Paris, 75), and subdivided into twenty numerically organised districts, the arrondissements. These districts are numbered in a spiral pattern with the I arrondissement at the center of the city.
The city is in the Ile de France region.
Prior to c.1960, 75 was Seine, which contained the city and the surrounding suburbs. The change in boundaries resulted in the creation of 3 new departments forming a ring around Paris, often called "la petite couronne": Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-St-Denis and Val-de-Marne.
Transport
Paris is served by two principal airports: Orly (East) and the international airport Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle (North).
Paris is densely covered by an underground railway system, the Métro.
It is surrounded by a large orbital motorway, the Peripherique.
Places
Notable places/things in Paris:
- The Eiffel Tower
- Les Invalides - tomb of the soldiers, including Napoleon
- The Louvre - a huge museum housing many works of art, including the famous Mona Lisa
- The Musee d'Orsay - an art museum housed in a converted 19th century railway station, mainly Impressionists.
- The Centre Georges Pompidou - houses the museum of modern art
- Montparnasse - historic area on the Left Bank, famous for the studios and cafés of the world's greatest artists who converged on Paris.
- Montmartre -- historic area on the Butte, home to Basilica of Sacré Coeur and also famous for the studios and cafés of the world's greatest artists.
- Arc de Triomphe - war monument at the center of The Place de l'Etoile.
- The Palais Garnier. Home of the Paris Opera.
- Champs-Élysées - the most famous street in the world.
- The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on the Ile de la Cité
- Saint Denis Basilica - ancient Gothic Cathedral and burial site for many French Monarchs.
- The Samaritaine Building - department store from the start of the 20th century
- The Statue of Liberty - A smaller version of the Statue of Liberty in the harbour of New York City which France gave to the United States in 1886.
- Les Halles - Market
- The Pantheon - tomb for France's greatest heroes.
In the greater Paris region:
- Versailles - a royal palace and gardens to the southeast of the city
- La Défense - sight of the Grand Arch at a major office, theater and shopping complex.
- Disneyland Paris - amusement park to the east of the city
Link
- Official Paris website: http://www.paris.fr/
- More than 700 photos of Paris and other areas of France: