Paris — Capital of France
The City of Light. 2,000 years of history, the world's most visited museum, and a tower that nearly got demolished. How well do you really know Paris?
About Paris — Capital of France
Paris (population 2.1 million, metro area 12 million) is the capital and largest city of France, and consistently ranks as the world's most visited city — attracting over 50 million tourists a year before the pandemic. Founded by the Celtic Parisii tribe around 250 BC on an island in the Seine (today's Île de la Cité), the city became the Roman settlement Lutetia before emerging as the capital of the Frankish kingdom under Clovis I in 508 AD. By the 12th century Paris was one of Europe's largest cities and home to the University of Paris, one of the first universities in the world.
Paris has been at the centre of French history at every turn: the French Revolution began here in 1789 with the storming of the Bastille; Napoleon redesigned its boulevards; Haussmann rebuilt it wholesale in the 1850s–70s, creating the grand avenues that define its character today. The Eiffel Tower — built for the 1889 World's Fair and nearly demolished afterwards — became the world's most recognisable landmark. The Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, is the world's most visited art museum. Paris hosted the Olympic Games in 1900, 1924, and 2024.