Paris is today one of the world’s leading business and cultural centres, and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world’s major global cities. Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with 45 million tourists every year in the Paris Region, 60% of whom are foreign visitors. There are numerous iconic landmarks among its many attractions, along with world-famous institutions and popular parks.

The author more writes, Paris, for centuries, the city had been a labyrinth of
narrow streets and half-timber houses, but, beginning in 1852, the Baron Haussmann’s urbanisation program involved leveling entire quarters to make way for wide avenues lined with neo-classical stone buildings of bourgeoisie standing. Most of this ‘new’ Paris is the Paris we see today. The building code has seen few changes since, and the Second Empire plans are in many cases still followed. The “alignement” law is still in place, which regulates building facades of new constructions according to a pre-defined street width. A building’s height is limited according to the width of the streets it lines, and under the regulation, it is difficult to get an approval to build a taller building.

Three of the most famous Parisian landmarks are the twelfth-century cathedral Notre Dame de Paris on the ?le de la Cit?, the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe and the nineteenth-century Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was a “temporary” construction by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Universal Exposition, but the tower was never dismantled and is now an enduring symbol of Paris.

Two of Paris’ oldest and famous gardens are the Tuileries Garden, created in the 16th century for a palace on the banks of the Seine near the Louvre, and the Left bank Luxembourg Garden, another former private garden belonging to a ch?teau built for the Marie de’ Medici in 1612. The Jardin des Plantes, created by Louis XIII’s doctor Guy de La Brosse for the cultivation of medicinal plants, was Paris’ first public garden.

About Author:

The author of this article is Shanti Obray. She visited Paris with her family lately on a vacation. Shanti Obray is a student and lives in UK, she started this travel with her family by train from UK to Paris and sharing with us her vacation experience.

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