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Paris

Country | France

Region | Île-de-France

Settled | 4200 BC

Population | 9,645,000
Area (sq mi) | 1,050 sq mi
Population density (/sq mi) | 9,185
Current mayor | Bertrand Delanoë

Demonym | Parisian
Co-ordinates | 48.8° N., 2.3° W.[1]

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated on the River Seine. The population of the Greater Paris urban area is approximately 10 million, or almost one-sixth of the total population of France, with over 2.1 million in the city of Paris itself.

Sainte Chapelle.

> Ajoutez deux lettres à Paris : c'est le paradis. \- Jules Renard

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Les banlieues
* 3 See also
* 4 External links
* 5 References

## History[edit]

Notre Dame cathedral

Known as Lutetia in ancient times, as with many other important cities in Europe, the Romans set up a military outpost (52 B.C.) on the location that would one day become Paris. In 250 A.D. Christianity is introduced by St. Denis. In the 6th century A.D., King Clovis I established Paris as his capital. This was confirmed when Hugh Capet became king of France in 987 A.D. Growth increased under the reign of Philip II (1180-1223) and Paris remained the capital when Louis XIV set up his court in Versailles in 1682. An important legacy of Louis Napoleon was the rebuilding of Paris. Georges-Eugène Haussmann, his city planner and administrative head of the project, carried out a massive restructuring of the city. The Germans occupied Paris in World War II. It was liberated near the end of the war, but was largely undamaged.[2]

Tomb of Porfirio Diaz at Montparnasse Cemetery.

Famous Paris landmarks include:

* Eiffel Tower
* Arc de Triomphe (de l'Étoile)
* Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (in the Tuileries)
* Louvre
* Musée d'Orsay
* Notre Dame cathedral, which was the setting for Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre-dame.
* Place de la Concorde
* The Champs-Élysées
* Les Invalides
* Pont Neuf (the "New Bridge", today the oldest bridge crossing the Seine)
* Pont Alexandre III
* Opera Garnier
* Sacré-coeur
* Montmartre
* Place de la Bastille
* Place des Vosges
* Montparnasse
* Quartier Latin
* Église de la Madeleine
* The Panthéon
* Centre Georges-Pompidou
* Cimetière du Montparnasse (Montparnasse Cemetery)
* The Tour Montparnasse (skyscraper)
* The Grande Arche and La Défense (west of Paris)

Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street, Rainy Day, 1877.

Pont Alexandre III et Invalides a sa gauche.

* Tuileries gardens.

* Café de la Paix.

* Carriage Parade on Champs Élysées.

* Place de la Concorde.

* La Madeleine.

* Le Palais des Études de l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts

* Arc de Triomphe.

* Le Louvre by night.

* The Pantheon.

* Centre Georges Pompidou.

* The tomb of Napoleon at Les Invalides.

* Statue of Napoleon I, at Place Vendôme.

* La Mosquée de Paris.

Portal at Notre Dame.

## Les banlieues[edit]

Some of the suburbs around Paris (les banlieues), especially to the northeast, are known for large apartment blocks, housing many of the latest Muslim immigrants to France. These have been rocked by violence as youths rioted against the alleged intolerance of the police forces.

Most of Paris’s high-rise buildings are located in three distinct areas:

La Defense, located in the departement of the Hauts-de-Seine,

Italie 13, located in the southern half of the 13th arrondissement,

and the Front de Seine, located in the 15th arrondissement. [1]

## See also[edit]

* Art cities
* French painting
* Gallery of French Masterpieces

## External links[edit]

* Paris museums
* Monuments
* Famous Churches and Cathedrals of Paris
* History of Paris
* Paris 26 Gigapixels. Panoramic view of the French capital.

## References[edit]

Sacre Coeur

1. ↑ (1922) World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1923, series: World Almanac and Book of Facts (in English). New York: Press Pub Co. (The New York World), 63. Rounded down towards zero.
2. ↑ The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989

The Opera Theater.

Marc Chagall, Opera Ceiling, 1964.