Paris is divided into 20 districts called arrondissements .

2. Paris is divided into 20 districts called arrondissements. They are arranged in the form of a snail. Six arrondissements are on the left bank of the Seine river. Fourteen are on the right bank. In the middle of La Seine are two islands: Île de la Cité and ÎleSaint-Louis.

3. Le Métro The mostused transportation by Parisiansis the underground railway, alsoknown as the Métro. There are 14 métrolines and 5 suburban train lines.

4. There are over 300 métro stations in Paris. The metrowascreated in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle (World Fair). Most of the stations weredesigned by Hector Guimard in the style of Art Nouveau.

5. Station Louvre-Rivoliwasdesigned by the French artistOthoniel.

6. Le vélib’ Parisiansalso use vélibs to travelaround the city. They are free bicycles foundthroughout the entire city.

7. FamousLandmarks

8. La Tour Eiffel The Eiffel Tower wasbuilt in 1889 for l’Exposition Universelle (The World Fair) and wassupposed to bedismantledat the end of the fair. The Eiffel Toweris 324 metreshigh. You canaccess the first and second levels by using the stairs or the elevators. You canaccess the thirdlevelonly by using the elevator.

9. From 6pm to 1am every night, the Eiffel Tower lights up and sparkles for 5 minutes

10. Les Invalides A few minutes awayfrom the Eiffel Towerisles Invalides. It was first constructed in  1670, as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers. It now hosts the Army Museum . After leaving the Invalides and crossing the Seine river, you will find yourself on the Champs-Elysées.

11. L’arc de Triomphe Napoléonordered the conctruction of the Arc the Triomphe in 1808. The Arc the Triomphe islocated on a roundabout – the biggest in the world – that opens onto twelve avenues. The Arc the Triomphe islocatedat the end of the Champs-Elysées, the mostfamous and mostexpensive avenue in Paris. The Arc de Triomphe wascreated to commemoratebattles won by the French army. Under the arch lies the Tomb of the UnknownSoldier.

12. La Concorde At the other end of the Champs-Elysées, facing the Arc the Triomphe, stands la Place de la Concorde. It is the biggest square in Paris. The oldLuxorObelisk – an Egyptian construction 3300 yearsold – wastransferred to Paris in 1836. It wasoffered to France by Egypt as a recognition of the work of Champollion, whowas the first man to translate hieroglyphics.

13. Le Louvre Whenyouleave the Place de la Concorde, you enter the Tuileriesgardenthatwillleadyou to the Louvre Museum. The Louvre was once the Palace of French Kings until Louis XIV moved to Versailles. The glass pyramidwascompleted in 1989.

14. The mostfamous painting in the Louvre isLa Joconde, alsoknown as the Mona Lisa. It waspaintedbetween 1503 and 1505 by Leonardo Da Vinci. In reality, the rathersmall size of the painting always surprises the manytourists of the museum.

15. On the contrary, the Musée de l’Orangerie hosts Les Nymphéas (the Waterlilies), a six-metre painting by the French artistMonet.

16. Le Pont des arts To go fromthe Louvre to the leftbank, youwillneed to cross Le Pont des Arts . On eachside of the brigde, hundreds of locks have been placed. They are put here by couples whowritetheirnames on the locks and thenthrowaway the key in the river as a sign of theirundying love.

17. Notre- Dame de Paris The Cathedralislocated on an island on the Seine river and wasused as the setting for the Disney movieThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame. It took over two centuries to buildNotre-Dame. On the forecourt of the cathedralis the Millenium point, alsoknown as kilometrezeroof French roads, thatisstillusedtoday to calculate distances.

18. Les gargouilles On top of Notre-Dameyouwillfind the gargoyles. Theirnamecomesfrom the Latin word for throat. Theyweredesigned to convey water away from the roof and the side of the building. Gargoyles were also built to scare the evil spirits away from the cathedral.

19. Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou was completed in 1977 and is named after a former French president. It is the largest museum of modern art in Europe. The Place Georges Pompidou, in front of the centre is usually the scene of street performers such as mimes, jugglers, singers…

20. The pipes The pipes on the outside of the building have a purpose. The blue pipes are the air conditioning ducts The green pipes convey water The yellow pipes convey electricity The red pipes are for the elevators.

21. Fontaine Stravinsky Right next to the museum you will find the Stravinsky Fountain. It was created in 1983 by the artists Nikki de Saint Phalleand Jean Tinguely, and represent the work of the composer Igor Stravinsky

22. Galeries Lafayette The Galeries Lafayette is the biggest department store in Paris. Each floor is dedicated to something different (cosmetics, shoes, apparel, accessories.) Every year for Christmas, a giant tree is set under the dome, and the exterior windows are a major attraction in the city.

23. Moulin Rouge Le Moulin Rouge is the most famous cabaret in Paris. It was created in 1889. It is known as being the spiritual birthplace of can-can. It is located in Montmartre, home of main artists of the time. Toulouse-Lautrec was a famous regular customer of the cabaret.

24. Le Sacré-Coeur Is a churchthatwasbuilt in 1870 and isat the top the hill of Montmartre.

25. You canaccess the top of the hill by using the stairs or the Funiculaire (a littlecablecar).Montmartreisfamous for itsnarrowstreets and itsstreetpainters. The hillwas the home of painterslike Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, Picasso or Van Gogh.

26. Bastille The Bastille was formally a fortress. For years, it was used as a prison by the kings of France. On the 14th July 1789, during the French Revolution, the townspeople broke in, freed the prisoners then completely demolished the prison. in 1899, the foundations of the Liberté Tower were uncovered and moved to the centre of the square where they can still be seen today.

27. La Bastille became the symbol of French revolutions. Since 1790, La prise de la Bastille (the Storming of Bastille), is celebrated annually on the 14th July . Bastille Day, is the major French public holiday. Every year, there is a military parade from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysées, and there is a flyover with jet streams in blue, white and red.

28. La Défense In eastern Paris is la Défense , the business district of the city. La Grande Arche(on the right) is the most iconic building of the district. Inside the tower are offices.

29. Versailles The Palace of Versailles was the home of French kings and queens. In 1682, Louis XIV moved from the palace of the Louvre to Versailles to suit his dreams of grandeur. However in 1789, during the French revolution, the king, Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette and their family had to move back to the city

30. One of the most important features of the palace is the Gallery of Mirrors, where the kingasked for everything to becovered in gold. The gardens of Versailles represent one of the finest example of jardin à la française. Versailles alsofeatures five chapels and the domain of the Queencalled Le Trianon. Le Trianon islocated opposite the palace and was the privatedomain of Marie Antoinette, whereyoucanfindherlittle palace, gardensà l’anglaise and a farm.