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Paris is the capital city of France. It is situated on the River Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region. The name Paris derives from that of its pre-Roman-era inhabitants, the Gaulish tribe known as the Parisii. The city was called Lutetia, during the first- to sixth-century Roman occupation, but during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363) the city was renamed as Paris. Paris has many nicknames, but its most famous is "The City of Lights", a name it owes both to its fame as a center of education and ideas and its early adoption of street-lighting.

First it is worth mentioning that Paris, the capital of France, represents world's number one tourist destination. Back in 2002 more than 76 million people around the world paid a visit to France and each year the capital of France serves as a tourist attraction that yearly gathers over 30 million visitors.

According to statistical data here are the world's most visited tourist destinations:

(international tourist arrivals)

More than half of all Paris' visitors, 55%, come from foreign countries such as: United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Italy, and Japan. The places considered to be the most popular in Paris are the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.In addition the capital of France is extremely popular for housing international conferences as well as various trade shows. A number of convention centers can be found in the city. One of the most popular convention centers is entitled the Palais des Congrès at Porte Maillot, located northwest of the Arc de Triomphe.

The population of Paris along with its suburbs, which are called Ile-de-France, have a total population of about 10.5 million people. Yearly Paris attractions gather a huge amount of visitors. The most popular attractions, according to statistics are:

Disneyland Paris - 12 million

Eiffel Tower - 5.5 million

Louvre - 5 million.

Airport

The city of Paris features two airports, the biggest one being Charles de Galle airport, which is located in Roissy, 23 km from northeast Paris. The second is the Orly airport, located 14 km from south Paris. The two airports have good connections with the center of Paris. Additional information can be found here: www.aeroportsdeparis.fr

Public Transport

The city has double-deckers that offer tourist information. RATR represents Paris' public transport company that has 13 underground lines covering the entire city and the outskirts. Besides, there are 4 RER lines, urban trains.

Ship

Paris includes 8500 of navigable canals that link the main rivers of France. The fares paid for such transportation include the rent for the ship, assurance and mechanical assistance.

Currency

The official currency of France is Euro. Banknotes used in France have the following denominations: 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 euro. Euro coins used in France have the following denominations: 1 and 2 euro coins, and then 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cent coins. Exchange services are provided by foreign exchange offices, however, a more secure and better way are considered to be banks.

2,142,800 inhabitants were registered in Paris in 2004. The city covers a territory of 10,539 hectares. The France as a whole has an area of over 54,396,500 hectares (or 543,965 km²). this data excludes overseas departments and territories.

Statistical data regarding river Seine:

The surface area of the river: 63 hectares.

Depth: 3.40 metres at the Nationale bridge and 5.70 metres at the Mirabeau bridge.

River speed: approximately 2 km/h.

Temperature: 5.3° to 24.6°, average: 14.1°.

Broadest point in Paris: approximately 200 m (near the Grenelle bridge).

Narrowest point: approximately 30 m (Quai de Montebello, on the small branch of the Seine).

7.6 km of canals cross Paris.

68 bridges and footbridges managed by the canal department.

37 bridges on the Seine including 31 road bridges, 4 footbridges, 2 railway bridges and 32 illuminated bridges.

Paris is also the capital with the most woodland found in Europe. This can be proved is citing the statistics:

478,000 trees, 120 main tree species, 8,000 trees found along the outer ring road. The city has 2 woods: Vincennes located in the east and Boulogne in the west. The former has an area of 995 hectares, 400 parks and gardens, the latter has 852 hectares.

In 2007 the overall budget for the city was estimated at €6.7 billion. Paris includes 47,000 City Hall employees, nearly half of whom are women, 49.4%. The capital of France also has the highest concentration of local shops in the country, 60,000 shops.

Along the city's inner ring road, by the end of 2007, there were 7.9 km of tramlines. In addition Paris has 1,451 Vélib' stations (bicycles on a self-service basis) and 20,000 bicycles.

Statistical data:

300 m: average distance between each Vélib' station.

370 km of cycle paths in Paris.

30,000 parking spaces for two-wheeled vehicles.

1.365 billion journeys per year in the Paris underground (data for the 2005 year)

800,000 parking spaces in inner Paris.

15,200 taxis in circulation.