Paris
Paris is the capital city of France with a population of a little over two million within the city, and has one of the largest suburban populations of all of Europe, with an additional eight million people. Known as the city of romance, the historical architecture and rich cultural monuments do not disappoint. It is also frequently referred to as the City of Light and is widely considered to be one of the most popular places to visit in Europe.
Paris is made up of 20 different districts that are numbered from 1-20 starting in a spiral from the Paris city centre which is in front of Notre Dame. Each of the numbered areas has its own set of attractions and unique theme with plenty do for tourists in every location. For the most part however, the earlier numbers have the most tourists worthy attractions.
For example, the 1st district contains the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe, while the 4th district has the Notre Dame de Pari and the St. Jacques Tower. Other notable districts include the 7th district which sports the Eiffel Tower, which is easily the most iconic attraction in Paris, and the largest store in Paris, Le Bon Marche.
Additionally many tourists enjoy going through La Defense district, which is not officially known as part of Paris, but is where the skyscrapers of the city are located, and the best place to view a mixture of public art and modern architecture.
Although Paris is not typically thought of as a city of immigrants, today it boasts a large number of immigrants due to its growth throughout the 70’s and 80’s, and even has more nationalities represented within its limits than the city of New York.
On average Paris has seasonally cold winters and warm summers, although snow is not very common making it pleasant to visit during both times. Spring and autumn are very rainy so tourism is low during these periods.
Most people choose to travel by foot or by the Metro, which is an excellent subway system. Although it can be confusing at first, once you catch onto the system lines, which are numbered, the railway system is easy to figure out. As trains arrive at stations every few minutes, except after midnight until 5am, the system is very reliable.
Travelling by foot is also recommended as it is the best way to take in the full cultural strength of the City of Lights, and the streets are lined for comfortable walking. Driving is not recommended as the streets are narrow and the traffic is horrendous, not to mention the scarcity of parking spots.
The best way to tour Paris is to purchase the Paris Museum Pass, which is good for two to six day increments and allows you see over 70 monuments and museums in Paris for a flat rate. If you plan on travelling around to most of the iconic sites of Paris it is the most affordable way to make sure that you fit in a full schedule of site seeing.
