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Paris Basic
BASIC FACTS
Paris is the capital city of France, the largest country of Western
Europe with an overall area of 550 000 km2. City combines the stunning
beauty of its rich historical legacy with intense cultural, academic,
scientific, commercial and business activity.City is first well known
for monuments, museums, restaurants, fashion and urban landscape. The
French kings, who governed France until 1848, left many beautiful
buildings, such as the palace of Versailles and the Louvre palace. The
Catholic Church left an incredible number of great churches.
The French
tradition of good food still prevails in many restaurants, including
gastronomic restaurants and excellent family style places. Paris is a
world capital city of shopping and fashion, with Channel, Dior, Yves
Saint-Laurent among many other brands. All of this makes it a unique
tourist destination. Altogether 32.6 million tourists visited here and
surrounding Ile de France region in 2007 (55% coming from France).
CLIMATE
It has warm summers and chilly winters (although rarely below
freezing or any snowfall). Rainfall is moderate throughout the year,
and it is known for its sudden rainfall. Snowfall is rare. The
weather here is fairly unpredictable. The average annual
temperature hovers around 55°F. It can reach up to 90°F
in August and can fall below 30°F in January. Skies are cloudy
more often than not, and you are as likely to hit rain in June or
October as you are in February or April. Humidity is rarely high and
use of air conditioning is not widespread, although this is changing.
SOCIETY
City has long been a haven for artists, musicians,
thinkers and political refugees. And with that, Paris has a culture
distinctly its own. Parisians are culturally enlightened with a unique
outlook on life. The city’s inhabitants are proud of their
culture and heritage; however, the old stereotype that the French are
all “snobs” doesn’t hold much water
today. The expansion of English as the universal language has helped to
increase the acceptance of travelers. The city simply oozes fashion. It
is the uncontested fashion center of the world. Parisians place
the highest value on fashion and fine dinning. Wealth is spent more
readily on the latest fashions or on gourmet cuisine then anything
else. Parisians have a love for the performing arts including theatre,
ballet, opera, and film. In recent years, Jazz music has caught on in a
big way. Let it’s unique culture inspire you.
LANGUAGE
French is the official language and English is not widely spoken.
Nonetheless, some people speak some English and a crash course in
French or a French phrase book will certainly come in handy. In an
effort to preserve the French language, the French government has
passed a slew of laws since 1975, banning foreign words from
advertising, official documents, radio, television, scientific
publications and meetings.
TIME
ZONE
Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +1 hour
No daylight saving time at the moment
Time zone abbreviation: CET - Central European Time
CITY
IN FIGURES
Population:
Central Area (intra-muros, 2000): 2,125,246
Surroundings (Ile de
France): 10,925,011
Cost
of a taxi from the airport: 45 euros approx.
Cost
of dinner for one in a restaurant: 15 euros or more
CURRENCY
EURO:
Currency conversion: 1 euro = 1.10 USD (approx.)
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