Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. 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 (1999 census: 2,147,857). The
Greater Paris metropolitan area has about 11 million residents (1999 census:
11,174,743).

History

The historical nucleus of Paris is the Ile de la CitŽ, a small island
largely occupied by the huge Palais de Justice and the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Paris. It is connected with the smaller Ile Saint-Louis,
occupied by elegant houses built in the 17th and 18th centuries. A major
characteristic of Paris is its tree-lined quays along the Seine River, in
particular, along the Left Bank with its open-air bookstalls, the historic
bridges that span the river, and the vast tree-lined boulevards like the
Champs-ƒlysŽes.

Paris was occupied by a Gallic tribe until the Romans arrived in
52 BC. The invaders referred to the previous occupants the
Parisii, but called their new city Lutetia, meaning "marshy place".
About fifty years later the city had spread to the left bank of the
Seine, now known as the Latin Quarter, and had been renamed "Paris".

Roman rule was over by 508, when Clovis the Frank made the city the capital
of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks. Viking invasions during the 800s
forced the Parisians to build a fortress on the Ile de la CitŽ. During one
invasion Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok,
who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving on March 27, 845. The
first French king, Odo, was chosen in this period.

During the 11th century the city spread to the Right Bank. The 12th and 13th
centuries, which included the reign of Philip II Augustus (1180-1223), are
especially notable for the growth of the city. Main thoroughfares were
paved, the first Louvre was built as a fortress, and several churches,
including the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, were constructed or begun. Several
schools on the Left Bank were organized into the Sorbonne, which counts
Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas Aquinas among its early scholars. In the
Middle Ages Paris prospered as a trading and intellectual centre,
interrupted temporarily when the Black Death struck in the 14th century.
Under the reign of King Louis XIV, the Sun King, from 1643 to 1715, the
royal residence was moved from Paris to nearby Versailles.

The French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille on July 14,
1789. Many of the conflicts in the next few years were between Paris and the
outlying rural areas of France.

In 1870 the Franco-Prussian War ended in a siege of Paris and the Paris Commune,
which surrendered in 1871 after a winter of famine and bloodshed. The Eiffel Tower,
the best-known landmark in Paris, was built in 1889 in a period of prosperity
known as La Belle ƒpoque ("The Age of Beauty).

Historical population

1801: 547,800 inhabitants
1831: 714,000
1851: 1,053,000
1881: 2,240,000
1901: 2,661,000
1926: 2,871,000

Administration

The city of Paris is itself a dŽpartement of France (Paris, 75), part of the
Ile-de-France rŽgion. Paris is subdivided into twenty numerically organised
districts, the arrondissements. These districts are numbered in a spiral
pattern with the 1er arrondissement at the center of the city.

Prior to 1964, dŽpartement 75 was "Seine", which contained the city and the
surrounding suburbs. The change in boundaries resulted in the creation of 3
new dŽpartements forming a ring around Paris, often called la petite
couronne (the little crown): Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and
Val-de-Marne.

Bertrand Delano‘ is Paris Mayor since March 18, 2001.

Former mayors: Jacques Chirac, Jean Tiberi

Geography

The altitude of Paris varies quite considerably with several prominent hills:

   * Montmartre - 130 metres (425 feet) above sea level
   * Belleville - 115 metres (375 feet) above sea level
   * Menilmontant
   * Chaumont
   * Passy
   * Chaillot
   * Montagne Ste-Genevieve
   * Butte-aux-Cailles
   * Montparnasse (the hill there was levelled in the 18th century)

Transport

Paris is served by two principal airports: Orly Airport, which is south of
Paris, and the international airport Charles De Gaulle International Airport
in Roissy, France.

Paris is densely covered by a metro system, the MŽtro. This interconnects
with a high-speed regional network, the RER, and also the train network:
commuter lines, national train lines, and the TGV (named Thalys or Eurostar
for specific destinations).

The city is the hub of France's motorway network, and is surrounded by a
large orbital road, the Peripherique. On/offramps of the Peripherique are
called 'Portes', as they correspond to the city gates. Most of these
'Portes' have parking lot and a metro station, where non-residents are
advised to leave cars. Traffic in Paris is notoriously slow and dangerous to
car bodywork.

Places in Paris

Notable places in Paris:

Monuments and buildings

   * The Eiffel Tower
   * Arc de Triomphe - monument at the center of the Place de l'Etoile,
     commemorating the victories of France and honoring those who died in
     battle.
   * Les Invalides - burial place of many great French soldiers, including
     Napoleon, as well as a museum.
   * The Conciergerie - ancient prison where many members of the Ancien
     Regime stayed before their death.
   * Palais Garnier - home of the Paris Opera, considered by Hitler to be
     the most beautiful building in the world.
   * Cathedral of Notre Dame on the Ile de la CitŽ
   * The Samaritaine Building - department store from the start of the 20th
     century
   * The Sorbonne - famous university founded in medieval times
   * Statue of Liberty - a smaller version of the New York City harbor
     statue which France gave to the United States in 1886.
   * The Pantheon of Paris - beautiful church and tomb of France's greatest
     heroes.
   * Sainte-Chapelle - 13th-century Gothic palace chapel.
   * ƒglise de la Madeleine
   * Place des Vosges - square in the Marais district laid out by Henry IV

Museums

   * The Louvre - a huge museum housing many works of art, including the
     Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue.
   * The Musee d'Orsay - an art museum housed in a converted 19th century
     railway station, containly mainly Impressionist works.
   * Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg - houses the museum of
     modern art and a cultural center with a large public library.
   * The Musee Rodin - a large collection of work's by France's most famous
     sculptor
   * The MusŽe du Montparnasse in the former residence of artist Marie
     Vassilieff at 21 Avenue du Maine, details the history of the great
     artistic community of Montparnasse.
   * MusŽe Cluny, also known as the MusŽe National du Moyen-Age, houses a
     large collection of art an artifacts from the Middle Ages, including
     the tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.

Suburbs, streets and other areas

   * Montmartre - historic area on the Butte, home to the Basilica of the
     SacrŽ Coeur and also famous for the studios and cafŽs of many great
     artists.
   * Champs-ƒlysŽes - the most famous street in the world, a broad boulevard
     usually clogged with tourists.
   * Rue de Rivoli - elegant boutiques for the tourists
   * Place de la Concorde - at the foot of the Champs-ƒlysŽes, formerly
     Place de la Revolution, site of the infamous guillotine and the
     obelisk.
   * Place de la Bastille - where the Bastille prison stood until the
     Revolution.
   * Montparnasse - historic area on the Left Bank, famous for the studios,
     music-halls, and cafŽs of the world's greatest artists who converged on
     Paris.
   * Pere Lachaise Cemetery - one of the most popular tourist sites in
     Paris, it contains the graves of many famous French men and women and
     those from other countries who came to live in France.
   * Cimeti�re de Montmartre
   * Cimetiere de Montparnasse
   * Cimeti�re de Passy
   * Catacombs of Paris
   * Les Halles - shopping precinct, includes an important metro connection
     station.
   * Le Marais - trendy district on the Left Bank with large gay and Jewish
     populations

Night life

   * Le Lido - cabaret on the Champs-ƒlysŽes famous for its exotic shows and
     where, as an American GI on leave with some army friends, Elvis Presley
     gave an impromptu concert.
   * Bal du Moulin Rouge, Le Crazy Horse Saloon, the Paris Olympia, Les
     Folies Berg�re - famous nightclubs

In the greater Paris region

   * Disneyland Resort Paris - amusement park to the east of the city
   * La DŽfense - major office, theater and shopping complex and site of the
     Grande Arche.
   * Palace of Versailles - the former royal palace, in the town of
     Versailles to the southeast of Paris. The largest tourist attraction in
     France.
   * Saint Denis Basilica - ancient Gothic Cathedral and burial site for
     many French monarchs located north of the city.

Events

   * July, 1789 - Storming of the Bastille
        o Royal familly forced from Versailles back to Paris
   * 1814 - Paris occupied by the armies of the Sixth Coalition after the
     fall of Napoleon
   * 1815 - Paris is again occupied, this time by the Seventh Coalition,
     after the end of the Hundred Days
   * 1855 - Exposition Universelle (1855)
   * 1856 - Congress of Paris is held
   * 1867 - Exposition Universelle (1867)
   * January 28th, 1871 - Paris Commune falls
   * 1878 - Exposition Universelle (1878)
   * 1889 - Exposition Universelle (1889) - Eiffel Tower
   * 1900 - Exposition Universelle (1900)
        o Paris MŽtro is opened
   * 1925 - Exposition Internationale des Arts DŽcoratifs et Industriels
     Modernes (1925)
   * 1931 - French Colonial Exposition (1931)
   * June 13, 1940 - Nazis enter Paris
   * 1968 - Student riots in Paris, combined with a series of strikes by
     workers across the country, threaten to bring down the Gaullist
     government
   * 1999 - Opening of the Biblioth�que Nationale de France

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