Paris - the City of Lights
Paris, the capital city of France and the fashion capital of the world is held to be a favorite destination of tourists.
Apart from being one of the largest cities of the continent, Paris is also considered to be one of its most beautiful and romantic places. It teases the senses and brings them alive. Couples from all over the world come to Paris to savor love and togetherness. It is an exotic blend of the modern and the traditional, the historic and the contemporary, the old and the new.
History
During the 3rd century B.C. Paris was inhabited by Celts and was called Lutetia. The Parisii, a gaulish people, came to Paris around 250 BC. They built a bridge across the Seine and then taxed everyone who passed over and under it. Lutetia became ‘the town of the Parisii’ and then finally, Paris in the 5th century AD. The city grew throughout the middle ages and became the largest town in France. Under the Roman Empire the administrative capital was Lyon. By the 18th century, Parisian fashion, taste and style became the style that the world followed. French became the international language. Philosophers such as Voltaire, Diderot, Condorcet became the stars.
To see
- The Arc de Triomphe: This is the world’s largest traffic roundabout and the meeting point of 12 avenues. France’s national remembrance service is held here annually on Nov 11th.
- Eiffel Tower: Built in 1889, the Tour Eiffel was the world’s tallest structure at 320m until Manhattan’s Chrysler Building was completed. Three levels are open to the public and there are elevators to the top with guided tours being available to visitors.
- The Louvre: It is the world’s greatest art museum and also the most famous. The former fortress began its career as a public museum in 1793 with 2500 paintings; now some 30000 are on display. The most famous works include Michelangelo’s Slaves, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and works by Raphael, Botticelli and Titian.
Nickname
Amongst its many nicknames, Paris is most known as ‘the City of Lights’ is the most popular by which Paris is known. There are many versions to the origin of the name – some say it was named thus because it was one of the foremost paces to install street lighting, while others hold that Paris was the centre of learning and education, fashion and design and was thus aptly named ‘City of lights’.