Paris (French pronunciation: [pai] ( listen)) is the capital and most populous city of France, with
an administrative-limits area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles) and a 2015 population
of 2,229,621.[2] The city is a commune and department, and the capital-heart of the 12,012-
square-kilometre (4,638-square-mile) le-de-France region (colloquially known as the 'Paris
Region'), whose 12,142,802 2016 population represents roughly 18 percent of the population of
France.[5] By the 17th century, Paris had become one of Europe's major centres of finance,
commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, a position that it retains still today. The Paris Region
had a GDP of 649.6 billion (US $763.4 billion) in 2014, accounting for 30.4 percent of the GDP
of France.[6] According to official estimates, in 2013-14 the Paris Region had the third-highest
GDP in the world and the largest regional GDP in the EU.
The City of Paris' administrative limits form a horizontal oval centred on its historical-heart le
de la Cit island; this island is near the peak of an arc of Seine river that divides the city into
southern Rive Gauche (Left Bank) and northern Rive Droite regions. Paris is but the core of a
built-up area that extends well beyond its limits: commonly referred to as the agglomration
Parisienne, and statistically as a unit urbaine (a measure of urban area), the Paris
agglomeration's 10,601,122 2013 population makes it the largest urban area in the European
Union.[3] City-influenced commuter activity reaches well beyond even this in a statistical aire
urbaine de Paris (a measure of metropolitan area), that had a 2013 population of 12,405,426,[7] a
number one-fifth the population of France,[8] and one that makes it, after London, the second
largest metropolitan area in the European Union. The 2016 Metropole of Grand Paris initiative,
encompassing the City of Paris and its surrounding petite couronne department communes, or
area covering 814 square kilometers and representing a population of 7 million,[9][10] aims to
improve city-suburb cooperation through a unique governing body.[11]
The city is a major rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports:
Paris-Charles de Gaulle (the second busiest airport in Europe after London Heathrow Airport
with 63.8 million passengers in 2014) and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the city's subway system,
the Paris Mtro, serves 5.23 million passengers daily,[12] and is the second busiest metro system
in Europe after Moscow Metro. Paris' Gare du Nord is one of the ten busiest railway stations in
the world, with 262 million passengers in 2015.[13]
Paris is especially known for its museums and architectural landmarks: the Louvre was the most
visited art museum in the world in 2016, with 7.4 million visitors.[14] The Muse d'Orsay and
Muse de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art, and the
Pompidou-center Muse National d'Art Moderne has the largest collection of modern and
contemporary art in Europe. The historical district along Seine River in the city center is
classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site. Popular landmarks in the center of the city include the
Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris and The Gothic royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, both on the
le de la Cit; the Eiffel Tower, constructed for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889; the
Grand Palais and Petit Palais, built for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900; the Arc de
Triomphe on the Champs Elysees, and the Basilica of Sacr-Coeur on the hill of Montmartre.
Paris received 22.2 million visitors in 2015, making it one of the world's top tourist destinations,
but the number of greater Paris visitors dropped by 11.5 percent following the terrorist attacks
the following year.[15]
The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Franais are
based in Paris. The 80,000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located
just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French
Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros. Paris hosted the Olympic
Games in 1900, 1924 and will host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The 1938 and 1998 FIFA World
Cups, the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and the 1960, 1984, and 2016 UEFA European
Championships were also held in the city, and every July, the Tour de France bicycle race
finishes in the city.
