France - Paris

Paris is the capital city of France. It is situated on the River Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region ("Région parisienne"). The City of Paris has an estimated population of 2,153,600 within its administrative limits.[2] The Paris unité urbaine (similar to the North American "urban area") is an area of unbroken urban growth that extends well beyond the administrative city limits and has a population of 9.93 million.[3] A commuter belt around the same completes the Paris aire urbaine (similar to the North American "metropolitan area") that, with its population of 12 million,[4] is one of the most populated areas of its kind in Europe.[5]

An important settlement for more than two millennia, Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centers, 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.[6][7][8]

The Paris Region (Île-de-France) is France's foremost centre of economic activity. With €500.8 billion (US$628.9 billion), it produced more than a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) of France in 2006.[9] With La Défense, the largest purpose-built business district in Europe[10], it hosts the head offices of almost half of the major French companies, as well as the headquarters of fifteen of the world's 100 largest companies.[11] Paris also hosts many international organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the ICC, or the informal Paris Club.

With over 30 million foreign visitors per year, Paris is the most popular tourist destination in the world.[12] The city hosts numerous iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame cathedral, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, the Invalides, the Panthéon, the Grande Arche and the Opéra Garnier among its many attractions, along with world famous institutions such as the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée National d'Art Moderne, and popular parks like Disneyland Resort Paris.

Etymology

Main article: Name of Paris and its inhabitants

Paris has many nicknames, but its most famous is 'The City of Light' (La Ville-lumière), a name it owes both to its fame as a center of education and ideas and its early adoption of street-lighting. Paris since the early 20th century has also been known in Parisian slang as Paname ([panam]; Moi j'suis d'Paname (help·info), i.e. "I'm from Paname"), slang name that has been regaining favour with young people in recent years.

Paris's inhabitants are known in English as "Parisians" ([pʰəˈɹɪzɪənz] or [pʰəˈɹiːʒn̩z]) and as Parisiens ([paʁizjɛ̃] (help·info)) in French. Parisians are often pejoratively called Parigots ([paʁigo] (help·info)) by those living outside the Paris Region, but this is a term sometimes considered endearing by Parisians themselves.

See Wiktionary for the name of Paris in various languages other than English and French.