Paris is one of Europe's most popular destinations. Not only does it have numerous attractions of its own, it is
also convenient for nearby Eurodisney. Accommodation is plentiful with a huge range of hotels and places to rent.
Classic Paris
Paris is over 2000 years old with its Gallic predecessor recorded by Ptolemeus as Leukotekia. The present city takes its name from the Parisii,
the Gallic tribe that inhabited the area from the 3rd century BC. In Roman tines it was known as
Lutetia Parisorum, and renamed Paris during the reign of Julian the Apostate (360-363).The Roman city was
based on the slopes of a hill above the Left Bank of the Seine - an area now known as the Latin Quarter. The modern city grew from an offshoot on the
Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine, during the Merovingian period. In the 6th century the Frankish king Clovis established a palace and a cathedral was built in the 10th century which
was replaced from 1163 when construction of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris began under the auspices of Bishop Maurice de Sully.
Post-revolutionary Paris
The Paris we are familiar with today dates from the period of the Second Empire of Napoleon III when Baron Haussman, the prefect of the city
reconfigured the French capital. Cramped medieval streets and houses were cleared and replaced with wide boulevards and new buildings with neo-classical
facades. This was not done simply to increase the grandeur of the city (which it did) but also made it easier to bring in the military to crush any
street barricades and demonstrations that had become something of a tradition. The end of the 19th century brought more familiar monuments such as
the Eiffel Tower and the Paris Metro system.
Outdoor Paris
Together with its historical heritage and fine architecture, Paris is also typified by
culturally-rich gardens with a variety of stylistic influences. Paris claims no fewer than 465 parks and 484,000 trees in those parks, along streets and roads, schoolyards and walkways. This
makes walking, cycling (there is a citywide bicycle rental scheme) or roller-blading a pleasure.
Parisian neighbourhoods also have their small public gardens known as squares. They are
sometimes difficult to spot, consequently some are busier than others. These squares can be described as oases of greenery. They are
popular both with Parisians and visitors, particularly at lunchtime, as well as children and romantic couples.
The river Seine runs for 13km through Paris, crossed by 37 bridges. The most recent built was the passerelle Simone-de-Beauvoir (July 2006),
linking the parc de Bercy on one side of the river to the square fronting the Bibliothèque nationale de France in the 13th arrondissement. This is
the fourth bridge for pedestrians, cyclists and skaters - the others being the passerelle des Arts, the passerelle Debilly and the
passerelle Senghor.
Paris is famous for outdoor art dotted around public spaces in the city. They include famous items such as Buren’s columns in the
gardens of the Palais-Royal and little-known artwork such as the 135 Arago medallions set into the ground along the Paris
meridian by Dutch artist Jan Dibbets. Alongside the Pompidou Centre, the Stravinsky fountain (designed by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely) squirts
playfully, while Auguste Rodin’s statue of Balzac is a landmark in the boulevard Raspail.
