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Paris is more than 2,000 years old. Gauls of the Parisii tribe settled there between 250 and 200 BC. Known as Lutetia (Lutece) in ancient times, Paris was conquered by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, and existed as a regional center under the Romans and in the early Middle Ages. In 987, HUGH CAPET, Count of Paris, became king of France, and the city's position as the nation's capital became established.
The Town of Paris gained autonomy on April 10, 1792, when Whitestown was divided. The name Paris was given to the Town in honor of Colonel Isaac Paris, a merchant from Fort Plain, New York. Victor Hugo was one of the first to immortalize Paris in literature, and his lead was taken up by many other French writers. Since the 1920s many American writers have made Paris their home, perhaps most famously Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Paris today maintains its importance, character, and charm, though its appearance is being transformed by structures such as the BEAUBOURG and by the ambitious grands projets building program carried out under the presidency of François Mitterrand. A third of the 75 million foreign tourists who came to France, 24.6 million, came to the Paris region.
On Holiday in Paris you will be amazed from the architecture. The challenge for celebrity architect I.M. Pei was to create a design that would accomplish its task while at the same time allow the Louvre Museum to remain the focus of attention. The solution he came up with was a series of glass pyramids. It allows the tourist and the Parisians the ability to see through it and revel in the elder architectural masterpiece. Those who want to see true novelty can go to La Défense or look at the last constructions of President Mitterrand. In addition to the La Défense arch and the Bastille Opéra, Mitterrand's projects have included the renovation of the Louvre by architect I. M. Pei, the La Villette complex on the northeastern edge of the city, and the Bibliothèque de France.
On Holiday in Paris don’t miss to visit the Cathedral Notre Dame. After Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, this is one of the most important and impressive cathedrals in Catholicism. It is a masterpiece of the Gothic styles and a textbook example of a number of architectural attributes, most strikingly, its flying buttresses. This is also where Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in 1804.
The crowning achievement in one of Paris' most interesting and on-again-off-again fashionable districts, the Sacred Heart Basilica is loved by the people on Montmarte perhaps more than the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Its architect died when the building was nothing more than a foundation.
On Holiday in Paris you have to see undoubtedly, one of the great monuments of the world, the Eiffel Tower only narrowly escaped demolition shortly after it opened. Built for the 1889 International Exposition - the equivalent of today's World's Fair - the tower was erected to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution and straddled the main entrance to the fair. The tower gets its name from Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed the monument, and also did the girder work for the Statue of Liberty now in New York harbor. The Tower is made of 12,000 pieces of pre-formed steel put together like a big puzzle. There are 7,000,000 rivets holding the tower together
The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to celebrate his military conquests, especially the one at Austerlitz. Carved around the top of the arch are the names of all of Napoleon's great victories. His less-extraordinary victories are carved inside the arch along with the names of 558 generals, the ones who died in battle are underlined. The Arc de Triomphe is modeled on the Arch of Constantine in Rome, but is twice its size -- 164 feet high and 148 feet wide. The body of Victor Hugo lay in state under the Arc de Triomphe. The arch is so big; you could put Notre Dame Cathedral underneath it.
Since Paris is such a compact city (roughly 6 miles across), much of it can be covered on foot — especially the primary sightseeing spots in the city's center. But when you on Holiday in Paris using the metro is necessary some times. Some of the métro stations are worth a visit in their own right. For example, the stop for the Louvre gives one the impression that the train has pulled into the Museum itself: the immaculate marble walls are lined with exhibits and replicas of art works, with glass cases containing various sculptures. A single-fare ticket (€1.40) is valid for an entire continuous trip - be sure to keep your ticket until you leave the system at your destination. Free maps are also available at most stations.