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Recent popular pages

1 Louvre paintings, the first page of paintings in the Louvre.
2 International schools in and around Paris.
3 Longchamp race course. Where the Prix de l'arc de triomphe is run on the first Sunday in October. I was amazed at just how cheap going to the races is in Paris, and it's even cheaper when you back a winner, as we did, and at 33/1 even champagne seems cheap.
4 Bridges. There are 32 over the Seine in Paris, see the photograph of one of the gilded statures on the Pont Alexandre below right.
5 Sightseeing. Brief tips on places to go, walks, bus rides etc.
6 Recommended restaurants/cafes. These are ones we go to again and again.
7 Les Invalides. Napoleon's tomb, see below, the fantastic armed forces museum, and the layouts of all the major battles. One day is not enough to see it all, and the building itself is beautiful.
8 Shopping for food in Paris. This can be a daunting task when you first arrive, so here is a page of hints and tips.
9 La Defense. The modern suburb with the Grande Arche (see the photograph below) to the west of Paris.
10 The Museum of Modern Art. This is the museum that was burgled recently. One of the stolen paintings is seen at the bottom of this page.

The information on this site will help you if you are thinking of visiting Paris for a holiday, or of coming here to live, or if you just want to dream about being here. You can click the links above, or the map on the right to take you to related pages.

The city of Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements, see the map on the right. They form whorls, rather similar to a snail's shell, and roughly follow the various old city walls.

In the map on the right the river Seine flows from right to left. The larger of the two islands is called Ile de la Cité, and is the oldest part of Paris. This is where Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle are located. It has been settled since before Roman times, and it along with part of what is now the 5th used to be called Lutetia. Arrondissements 1 - 6 with part of 7 form the Medieval extent of the city. Then during the Renaissance it expanded to include 7 -11 and part of the 12th. During the industrial era it expanded further and was formally divided up into the 20 arrondissements we see today. The 20 arrondissements are encircled by the peripherique, a largely elevated road. And some would say that civilization ends outside the Peripherique.

The smaller island is called Ile Saint-Louis, and was originally two marshy islands that were used for grazing cattle, were joined and built on in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was mainly residential, but now has many small hotels, small shops and a large number of very nice restaurants.

Unlike many other European capital cities Paris escaped major wartime bombing during WWII. So there is still a lot of nice architecture in the city, and fewer of the hastily built post-war monstrosities.

Bercy Pere Lachaise Cemetary Montparnasse Tower, Allée des Cygnes Cluny Museum, Pantheon, Sorbonne Sacre Coeur Jardin d'Atlantique Opera Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Madeleine, Grand Palais, Petit Palais Eiffel Tower, Orsay Museum, Invalides, Ecole Militaire, Champs de Mars Luxembourg Gardens, St. Sulpice, St. Germain des Pres, Place St. Michel Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, Pompidou Centre, Place des Vosges Louvre, Tuileries, Palais Royal Passage des Panoramas, Bourse 3rd arrondissment, Carvavalet Museum, Marais
Population 2 000 000 within the Peripherique, 10 000 000 in Greater Paris - around 20% of entire French population.

Most popular search terms
1 Les Invalides. Napoleon's tomb, see below, the fantastic armed forces museum, and the layouts of all the major battles. One day is not enough to see it all, and the building itself is beautiful.
2 Louvre Paintings. This is the entry page for the paintings in the Louvre.
3 Longchamp race course. Where the Prix de l'arc de triomphe is run on the first Sunday in October. I was amazed at just how cheap going to the races is in Paris, and it's even cheaper when you back a winner, as we did, and at 33/1 even champagne seems cheap.
4 La defense/La Defence. The first spelling is correct.
5 International schools in Paris.
6 Bridges. There are 32 over the Seine in Paris, see the photograph of one of the gilded statures on the Pont Alexandre below right.
7 Shopping for food. On this page you can find that basics to help you feed your family.
8 Inside the Louvre. Although best known as a museum, the building itself is incredibly interesting, as can be seen from the photograph below taken from underneath the glass pyramid entrance.
9 Hotel de Lauzun. One of the most beautiful houses in Paris. It is not always easy to get inside, so if you have the chance take it - you will not be sorry. If not you can still have a look at it from the outside, and the other lovely houses in the area.
10 Josephine Bonaparte at Malmaison. Malmaison is a wonderful place to visit, so much more intimate than Versailles, perhaps because you can see so many of their personal possessions. Also it was obviously a lived-in house, and not a grand palace.
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