Information about Paris
Facts about Paris
The (national) flag | ![]() |
Official name | Paris |
Surface | 105 km², without the suburbs and commuter towns. |
Inhabitants | 2.2 million (2014). In the whole metropolis with suburbs live about 10 million people |
Population density | more than 21.000 per km² |
Capital | Paris is the capital of France |
Currency | The euro since 2002. 1 € is about $1.17 (2017) |
Road network | The roads are quite good but in a big city as Paris we rather travel with the public transportation and Paris has an extensive and fast subway network. |
Fuel prices | For actual fuel prices in all European countries see Autotraveler.ru. |
Code licence plate | F |
Telephone countrycode | 33 |
Internet countrycode | .fr |
Time difference | GMT+1; the same time as in the Netherlands |
Geographic data
Parijs lies in the north of France, in the region Île-de-France. The original centre was build on two islands in the Seine river, the Île Saint-Louis and the larger Île de la Cité which forms the oldest part of the city. In general Paris is relatively flat with its lowest point 35 meter above sea level. On both sides of the river Paris has a few hills: Montmartre (130 meters), Belleville (128,5 meters), Ménilmontant (108 meters), Buttes-Chaumont (103 meters), Passy (71 meters) and the Chaillot (67 meters). East of the Seine are the hills of Montparnasse (66 meters), Butte-aux-Cailles (63 meters) and Montagne Sainte-Geneviève (61 meters).
Population
Paris is well known for its multicultural society. Since the Middle Ages students and migrants went to Paris, from the Dutch and Swedish students who went to live in quartier Latin in the 14th century to the Africans and east Asiats who now settle in the Goutte d'Or.
History
There are a lot of sources on the internet about the history of Paris:
Wikipedia: The history of Paris on Wikipedia
discoverfrance.net: Chronological history of Paris
Lonelyplanet: The history of Paris on Lonelyplanet
Wikipedia: The history of Paris on Wikipedia
discoverfrance.net: Chronological history of Paris
Lonelyplanet: The history of Paris on Lonelyplanet
Places of interest
a list with the major places of interest in Paris:
• The Eiffel Tower: there is an elevator going up (make a reservation before you go, there are always long lines!)
• Yhe Louvre: one of the nicest museums in the world
• Notre Dame: historic cathedral
• Basilique du Sacré-Coeur: a white basilica on the hill Montmartre
• Arc de Triomphe: triumphal arch in the heart of Paris. You have a nice view from the roof.
• The Champs-Élysée;s: the well-known avenue of Parijs, almost 2 kilometers long
• the catacombs of Paris: hundreds of kilometers of tunnels where the dead were buried; you can visit a small part of them
But there are dozens, maybe hundreds of other things to see and do in Paris. Make a list in advance of what you really want to see when you go there.
• The Eiffel Tower: there is an elevator going up (make a reservation before you go, there are always long lines!)
• Yhe Louvre: one of the nicest museums in the world
• Notre Dame: historic cathedral
• Basilique du Sacré-Coeur: a white basilica on the hill Montmartre
• Arc de Triomphe: triumphal arch in the heart of Paris. You have a nice view from the roof.
• The Champs-Élysée;s: the well-known avenue of Parijs, almost 2 kilometers long
• the catacombs of Paris: hundreds of kilometers of tunnels where the dead were buried; you can visit a small part of them
But there are dozens, maybe hundreds of other things to see and do in Paris. Make a list in advance of what you really want to see when you go there.