Paris - The City of Fashion and Love

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. Situated on the Seine River, in the north of the country, it is at the heart of the Île-de-France region, also known as the région parisienne (Paris Region in English). The city of Paris has a population of 2,249,975 inhabitants (January 2011), while its metropolitan area is one of the largest population centres in Europe, with 12,292,895 inhabitants at the January 2011 census.

History

Paris was founded in the 3rd century BC by a Celtic people called the Parisii, who gave the city its name. By the 12th century, Paris was the largest city in the western world, a prosperous trading centre, the home of the University of Paris, and one of the most influential centres of learning in Europe. In the eighteenth century, it was the centre stage for the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and an important centre of commerce, fashion, science, and the arts.

Economy

The Paris Region has one of the largest GDPs in the world, €612 billion (US$760 billion) in 2012. It hosts the world headquarters of twenty-nine of the Fortune Global 500 companies. Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centres and has a global influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, science, and the arts. Paris is also one the world's leading tourist destinations. In 2013, the City of Paris welcomed 15.6 million international visitors, measured by hotel stays. The Paris Region, which includes Disneyland Paris, the most visited tourist attraction in France, welcomed 32.3 million visitors. Paris is the third largest earner on tourism worldwide.

Arts, Fashion and Tourism

Paris in 2013 was the home of the three of the most visited art museums in the world: the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Centre Georges Pompidou. It also is the home of several of the most visited architectural landmarks, including the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Paris (12th century); Sainte-Chapelle (13th century); the Eiffel Tower (1889); and the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur on Montmartre (1919).
Paris is known for its fashion designers, high-end boutiques, and the twice-yearly Paris Fashion Week. It is world-renowned for its haute cuisine, and celebrated three-star restaurants. Most of France's major universities and Grandes Écoles are in Paris or its suburbs, and most of France's major newspapers, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, and Libération, are based in the city, while Le Parisien in the suburb Saint-Ouen.

Sports

Paris is home to the association football club Paris Saint-Germain FC and the rugby union club Stade Français. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros. Paris played host to the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics, the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cup, and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The 80,000-seat Stade de France in Saint-Denis was built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Transporation

The city is a major rail, highway, and air-transport hub, served by the two international airports Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the city's subway system, the Paris Métro, serves 5.23 million passengers daily. Paris is the hub of the national road network, and is surrounded by three orbital roads: the Boulevard Périphérique, the A86 motorway, and the Francilienne motorway in the outer suburbs.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Paris" and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.