Paris

Culture

Paris began on the Île de la Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine where the Gallic Parisii people lived and where the Romans built Lutetia. Today the French capital is divided into 20 arrondissements, numbered in a spiral out from the centre like a snail's shell. Much of the look the city has today, with wide boulevards and pale stone buildings with wrought-iron balconies, comes from Baron Haussmann's rebuilding under Napoleon III. The banks of the Seine, from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. Each neighbourhood has its own character: the Latin Quarter of students and bookshops, the Marais with its old narrow streets, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and its literary cafés, and Montmartre, up on its hill, the painters' quarter. Parisians live by the corner café, the neighbourhood bakery and picnics along the river when the weather warms up. On 14 July, Bastille Day, there is a military parade on the Champs-Élysées and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. And on 21 June, the Fête de la Musique, the whole city becomes a stage, with free concerts in squares, on street corners and in bars.

Things to see

Local food

• Baguette — Bought warm at the bakery and carried under the arm. Baguette-making was added to UNESCO's heritage list in 2022.
• Croissant — Buttery laminated pastry, with a coffee at the counter first thing in the morning.
• Croque-monsieur — A toasted ham and cheese sandwich topped with béchamel and grilled. A café classic.
• French onion soup — Caramelised onions in broth, topped with bread and melted cheese.
• Macaron — Two small almond biscuits, crisp outside and soft inside, sandwiching a creamy filling.

Local music

Paris is the capital of chanson, the lyric-driven French song whose greatest voices include Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour and Serge Gainsbourg. In the early 20th century accordion dance halls, the bal-musette, filled the working-class districts, and in the 1930s Django Reinhardt created gypsy jazz here. After the war the cellars of Saint-Germain-des-Prés became jazz clubs, and in the late 1990s the "French touch" of Daft Punk and Air took French electronic music worldwide. By law, French radio has to play a good share of French-language songs, so you will hear plenty of French pop and rap, along with jazz, classical music and news.

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