Facts about Paris. Fun facts about Paris

10 interesting facts about Paris

1. The Eiffel Tower was the world tallest building from 1889 until 1930.
2. Sainte-Chapelle was built in 1246 as a shrine for Jesus' crown of thorns.
3. Mona Lisa, the world most famous picture, is exhibited in the Louvre.
4. French King Louis XVI was guillotined in Place de la Concorde in 1793.
5. The Louis Vuitton megastore is located 101, avenue des Champs-Elysées.
6. Pablo Picasso, the famous Spanish painter, lived in Paris from 1900 to 1946, mostly in Montmartre and Montparnasse districts.
7. Jim Morrison, lead vocalist of the Doors rock band, died in Paris in 1971. He is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery. Anchor 60 on Père Lachaise map.
8. Hélène de Pourtalès, born Helen Barbey in New York City, was the first woman to won a gold medal at the Olympics games (Paris 1900).
9. The 1946 Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in Palais de Chaillot during the UN third general assembly.
10. Emperor Napoléon was buried in Les Invalides in 1840. His tomb attracts 1.2 million visitors yearly, 70% international.

Paris facts in a nutshell

Continent: Europe. Country: France
Region: Ile de France
Weather: temperate and oceanic.
Coordinates: 48:51:17N 2:20:12E. Altitude: 34 meters
Paris currency: Euro (EUR)
Language: French. Time Zone: Central European Time (CET)

Since 508 A.D, Paris, also called the City of Light, is the capital of France. France is a member of the European Union, the largest country of Western Europe with 550 000 km2 and the second country in population behind Germany with 68 millions inhabitants. France facts.

The city has 2.133 million inhabitants. It is the core of the Grand Paris metropolitan area (7.145 million people) and Ile de France region (12.317 million people). Grand Paris facts.

The region is very dynamic with 6 million jobs, 800 000 students in 16 universities and other educational institutions, 130 theaters, 100 nightclubs, 96 cabarets, 76 movie theaters, 3 opera houses, 61 000 shopping venues.

Paris facts for kids

The Eiffel Tower is 324 meters tall. At its construction, it was the tallest monument in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 meters. It is still the tallest monument in the city.

The Louvre Museum is the world's most visited museum with 8.9 million visitors in 2023. It is also the world's largest museum. Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square meters (652,300 square feet).

The house of Nicolas Flamel, at 52, rue de Montmorency is the oldest in the city. It was built in 1407 by Nicolas Flamel an alchemist who claimed that he had made the Philosopher's Stone which turns lead into gold, and that he and his wife Pernelle had achieved immortality.

The tallest churches in Paris are Les Invalides (height of the Dome: 107 meters), Notre-Dame (height of the spire before the 2019 fire: 96 meters), Sacré-Coeur (height of the bell tower: 91 meters).

Paris history facts

From the Romans who conquered it in 52 BC to today's 5th Republic, the city has a rich 2000 year history. The French Kings, who governed France, from 448 until 1848, commissioned famous Paris monuments, such as the Louvre Palace, the Invalides and Versailles Palace. Over the centuries, faithful Parisians built beautiful Paris churches, including Notre-Dame Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle in 13th century and Sacré-Coeur in 19th century.

Paris history facts

Paris, the capital of France

Under the Romans, the capital of France was Lyon. Paris became the capital of France in 508 under King Clovis. After centuries with no unique capital, it retrieved its status under King Philippe Auguste who reigned between 1180 and 1223. See remains of the Philippe August walls in the passageway between the Louvre parking and Museum. The city remained the capital of France until today, with one four year interruption. During German occupation (WW2, 1940-1944), the capital of France was Vichy.

Paris tourism facts

In 2023, 37 million tourists visited the city and its region. The city remains year after year the most visited one in the world ahead of Dubai and Amsterdam. The top reasons to come are sightseeing and shopping. 393 000 people work for tourism in the city, the largest Airbnb market in the world.

The top sights. 2023 facts and figures in million visitors: Disneyland Paris (15), Sacré-Coeur (11), the Louvre Museum (8.9), Versailles Palace (8.1), the Eiffel Tower (6.32), Musée d'Orsay (3.87), Centre Pompidou (2.6), Notre-Dame (13 before the fire).

Download Paris 2023 facts.

Eiffel Tower facts | Notre-Dame facts | Arc de Triomphe facts

Paris topography facts

The city is 9 miles East to West, 6 miles North to South, with an area of 33.5 square miles, 86.7 square kilometers. The city is 34 meters above sea level.

The highest hill is Montmartre at 128 meters. At the top of Montmartre, the dome of Sacré-Coeur is at 200 meters.

The Seine, the river in Paris, flows from the South West to the South East. The North bank is the Right Bank, la Rive Droite. The South bank is the Left Bank, la Rive Gauche.

Places to visit in Paris

Paris economy facts

There are 6,5 million jobs in the Ile de France region for a GDP of 710 billion euros, the largest of any European region.

75% of multinational companies with over 500 employees chose the city to locate their European head office, many of them in La Défense business district. The city has the highest concentration of headquarters of the 500 largest international companies in Europe.

The city is among the top exhibition and congress cities in the world. The biennial Motor Show is the most visited in the world and the Air Show Le Bourget is a biennial world class event.

The city hosts the French Government, 150 embassies and the headquarters of international organizations such as Eutelsat, the European Space Agency, the OECD, Unesco and Unicef. Paris is world's number two city for headquarters of international organizations behind Brussels, ahead of London and New York City.

Paris business facts

Administration of the city facts

The city is divided into 20 arrondissements numbered 1 to 20. The first arrondissement contains Ile de la Cité, the Louvre and Les Tuileries.

The other arrondissements spiral from there in a clockwise direction. A zip code such as 75004 indicates Paris, 4th arrondissement. Check map of Paris Arrondissements with top sights. The large Hotel de Ville is the administrative heart of the city since the Middle Ages. The facts are that the 20 arrondissement city halls have very limited power.

Detailed Paris facts

This web site has over 200 detailed pages of up to date facts and information on the city. Check among them:

Paris monuments
Paris museums
Transport in Paris
Paris news in English
Paris fashion facts

Paris songs

Many singers romantically sang the city of love. The songs are in English or French. Some recent videos show well the true city, as Parisians live it. Pay attention to the newcomer, Rémi Fa. Twenty years in Paris, ten years in Berlin, now in Barcelona, Rémi Fa, released his first album in 2020 as the inspired representative of the so called bobo generation.

Rémi Fa Petit Bourgeois de Paris - French (subtitles) - 2020
Oxmo Puccino - Pam pa panam - French - 2013
Mickey 3D - Paris t'es belle - French - 2009
Joe Dassin - Les Champs-Elysées - French - 1969
Jacques Brel - Les Prénoms de Paris - French - 1961
Fred Astaire - Paris loves lovers - English - 1955
Cole Porter - I love Paris - English - 1953
Edith Piaf - Paris - French - 1949