Paris Tourist Pages
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Paris is the capital and largest city of France. Straddling the river
Seine in the country's north, it is a major global cultural and political centre
in addition to being the world's most visited city. Nicknamed "the City of
Light" (la Ville Lumière) since the 19th century, Paris also has a
reputation as a "romantic" city. The most recognisable symbol of Paris is the
324 metre (1,063 ft) brown metal Eiffel Tower located on the banks of the Seine.
Paris is also internationally renowned for its defining neoclassical
architecture and its influence in fashion and the arts.
As one of the main cultural and political centres in Europe since the early Middle Ages, Paris contains many vestiges from its past including numerous art galleries, museums and theatres. More recently, it has grown into a significant centre of international trade with ever-growing modern business districts, including La Défense, which forms a secondary city centre. Paris hosts the headquarters of many international trade and social organisations, including the OECD and UNESCO in addition to the head offices of nearly half of all French companies and offices of many major international firms. The city of Paris has an estimated 2004 population of 2,144,700, but over the last century has grown well beyond its administrative boundaries into an urban area agglomeration whose population was estimated at 9.9 million in 2005 . The Île-de-France region, of which Paris is the capital, produces over a quarter of France's wealth, with a GDP of nearly €450 billion. Today Paris is one of the world's major transport destinations because of its financial, cultural, political, and tourism activities.
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