Paris, France
When one thinks of cities with supreme levels of historical, artistic, cultural, and commercial importance in the world, Paris, the capital of France, is not far from the top of the list. As one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world for various reasons, Paris is a city of great global importance and a mainstay for the European tourism experience.
Paris has been inhabited since around 250 BC. By around 500 AD, the city had undergone a great period of growth under Roman control, decline when the Roman Empire collapsed, and then growth again under the Frankish king Clovis I. Over the next thousand years, the city’s power fluctuated. At times it was not even the capital of France, and other times it was the most powerful city in the region. The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century brought about the city’s largest growth in its history and set the stage for its modern prominence as a cultural and commercial bastion of Europe.
The elevation of the city is rather flat, and it is built around the north-bending arc of Seine River. Paris’s climate is classified as oceanic and is influenced heavily by the North Atlantic Current. Because of this, temperatures rarely exceed high and low temperatures, which are around 59 degrees and 45 degrees respectively. Recently, though, the heat wave of 2003 and the cold wave of 2006 put the city through extreme temperature situations.
Paris is a globally-renowned center for almost every art form. High fashion is very popular, with some of the most recognizable names in the design world coming from France. The Louvre Museum is one of France’s most visited museums and contains many of the most important pieces in art history. Theater and performance are large parts of the French experience. All of these things, including the beauty of the architecture and the sheer amount of things to see in Paris, contribute to the city’s huge amount of tourism annually.
Museums in Paris
