Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Paris facts and information. The capital of France is the largest city of continental Europe. The Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa, Monet's paintings, the grave of Napoleon, Louis Vuitton, Disneyland, Paris Air Show and Motor Show are among the top attractions of the most visited city in the world. The 2024 Olympics will be held in the city. Facts for kids. Paris City guide.
1. Helene de Pourtales, born Helen Barbey in New York City, was the first woman ever to won a gold medal at the Olympics games (Paris Olympics Games 1900).
2. The Eiffel Tower was the world tallest building until 1930.
3. Sainte Chapelle was built in 1246 as a shrine for Jesus crown of thorns, now hosted in Notre Dame Cathedral.
4. The world most famous picture, Mona Lisa, is hosted in the Louvre, the largest museum in the world.
5. French King Louis XVI was guillotined on Place de la Concorde in 1793, during the French revolution.
6. The famous Louis Vuitton megastore is located 101, avenue des Champs Elysees, one of the most famous avenues in the world.
7. Pablo Picasso, the famous Spanish painter, lived in Paris from 1900 to 1946, mostly in Montmartre and Montparnasse.
8. Jim Morrison is buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery.
9. The universal declaration of human rights was signed in Palais de Chaillot in 1946.
10. Emperor Napoleon was buried in Les Invalides in 1840. His tomb attracts crowds of tourists.
Since 508 A.D, Paris, also called the City of Lights, 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 66 millions inhabitants. France facts.
The city has 2.25 million inhabitants. She is the core of the Grand Paris metropolitan area (6.8 million people) and Ile de France region (12.01 million people). Grand Paris facts.
The city is very dynamic with 6 million jobs, 325 000 students studying at Paris University and other educational institutions, 140 theaters, 100 nightclubs, 96 cabarets, 90 movie theaters, 3 opera houses, 62 000 shopping venues.
From the Romans who conquered her in 52 BC to today's Vth 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 Sacre Coeur in 19th century.
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, she retrieved her 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.
In 2017, 33.8 million tourists visited the city and her region. The city remains year after year the most visited one in the world ahead of London and New York City. The top reason to come are sightseeing and shopping. 393 000 people work for tourism in the city, the largest Airbnb market in the world. Top sights facts and figures: Notre Dame (12 million visitors in 2017), Disneyland Paris (11), Sacre Coeur (10), Versailles Palace (7.7), the Louvre Museum (6.9), the Eiffel Tower (5.9), Centre Pompidou (3.33), Musee d'Orsay (3).
Eiffel Tower facts | Notre Dame facts | Arc de Triomphe facts
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 8.1 million visitors in 2017. 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 a scrivener and 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 ground floor now houses the Auberge Nicolas Flamel.
The tallest churches in Paris are Les Invalides (height of the Dome: 107 meters), Notre Dame (height of the spire: 96 meters), Sacre Coeur (height of the bell tower: 91 meters).
Continent: Europe
Country: France
Region: Ile de France
Coordinates: 48:51:17N 2:20:12E
Altitude: 34 meters
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Language: French
Time Zone: Central European Time (CET)
Paris weather
The city is 9 miles East to West, 6 miles North to South, giving it 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 Sacre 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.
There are 6 million jobs in the Ile de France region for a GDP of 612 billion euros (83% in services), 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 Defense business district. The city has the highest concentration of headquarters of the 500 largest international companies in Europe. Lesser known, many start-up companies settled in downtown, attracted by Paris workforce quality and her lifestyle. Station F is the world's largest start-up incubator. 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. In 2015, Paris was, behind Berlin, the second organizer of international association meetings in the world with 186 meetings (ICCA statistics).
The city is divided into 20 arrondissements numbered 1 to 20. The first arrondissement contains the Ile de la Cite, the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens.
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.
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
La Sorbonne facts
Paris news in English
French fashion facts
The City of Lights is the romantic city of the world. Many singers romantically sang the city of love, specially during the last century. Most of the songs are in French.
Edith Piaf - Paris - 1949
Jacques Brel - Les Prenoms de Paris - 1961
Joe Dassin - Les Champs Elysees - 1969
Luis Mariano - Paris terre promise - 1952
Maurice Chevallier - Paris, je t'aime - 1930
