Paris

Paris is the capital city of France. It is situated on the River Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Ile-de-France region (Region parisienne). The city of Paris has an estimated population of 2, 153, 600 within city limit (2005 est. ). The Paris urban area has a population of 9. 93 million and a commuter belt around the same completes the Paris aire urbaine (roughly: metropolitan area) that, with its population of 12 million, is one of the most populated areas of its kind in Europe.

Paris location at a crossroads between land and river trade routes in lands of abundant agriculture had made it one of Frances principal cities by the 10th century, rich with royal palaces, wealthy abbeys and a cathedral; by the 12th century Paris had become one of Europes foremost centres of learning and the arts. Today, Paris is a major influence in politics, fashion, business, arts and science. The city serves as an important hub of intercontinental transportation and is home to universities, sport events, opera companies and museums of international renown, making it an attraction for over 30 million foreign visitors per year.

The Paris region (Ile-de-France) is Frances foremost centre of economic activity. With ?478. 7 billion (US$595. 3 billion), it produced more than a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) of France in 2005. With La Defense, the largest purpose-built business district in Europe, it hosts the head offices of almost half of the major French companies, as well as the headquarters of ten of the worlds 100 largest companies. Paris also hosts many international organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the ICC, or the informal Paris Club.

Paris is located on a north-bending arc of the river Seine and includes two islands, the Ile Saint-Louis and the larger Ile de la Cite which forms the oldest part of the city. Paris has several prominent hills, of which the highest is Montmartre at 130 metres (426 ft) above sea level. Paris, excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, covers an oval measuring 86. 928 square kilometres (33. 56 mi2) in area.

The citys last major annexation of outlying territories in 1860 not only gave it its modern form, but created the twenty clockwise-spiralling arrondissements (municipal boroughs). From its 1860 78 km2 (30. 1 mi2), these limits expanded marginally to 86. 9 km2 in the 1920s, and in 1929 the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes forest parks were officially annexed to the city, bringing its area to its present 105. 397 square kilometres (40. 69 mi2). The Paris metropolitan area extends far beyond the city limits, forming an irregular oval with arms of urban growth extending along the Seine and Marne rivers from the citys south-east and east, and along the Seine and Oise rivers to the citys north-west and north. Further, beyond the central suburbs, population density drops sharply in the surrounding land; a mix of forest and agriculture dotted with a network of ...