THE CITY

MEET THE “CITY OF LIGHTS”
During World War I, Paris was at the forefront of the war effort, having been spared a German invasion by the French and British victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. In 1918-1919, it was the scene of Allied victory parades and peace negotiations. In the inter-war period Paris was famed for its cultural and artistic communities and its nightlife. The city became a gathering place of artists from around the world, from exiled Russian composer Stravinsky and Spanish painters Picasso and Salvador Dalí to American writer Hemingway. In June 1940, five weeks after the start of the Battle of France, Paris fell to German occupation forces and remained under German control until the city was liberated in August of 1944, two months after the Normandy invasion. Central Paris endured World War II practically unscathed, as there were no strategic targets for Allied bombers (its rail stations and major industries were and still are located outside the central city. And, fortunately, for the world at large, German General von Choltitz did not destroy the Parisian monuments before the German retreat, despite orders from Berlin. The Paris of today is a visual treat, and truly worthy of a several-day visit to see all the wonders of the City of Lights.

“ARRONDISSEMENTS”
Paris is divided up into 20 large administrative districts. Beginning at the center of the city, they curl round in a clockwise direction like a snail shell. To find out which “arrondissement” you are in, you will find it on all the street signs. You’ll find plans all over the city, on the main roads, at the entrance and inside metro stations and in bus shelters. There are detailed street maps, plans of the “arrondissement” or maps showing the public transport network. Often, the spot where you are standing is marked on the map with a sign saying “vous êtes ici (you are here!)”. Maps of each “arrondissement” are also available from vending machines in each area - you have to pay for them, but they are very detailed. Last but not least, you can obtain free maps from the ticket offices in metro stations, in the department stores and at all the information centers of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Russian). The Parisian road network is composed of major boulevards and avenues, generally wide and straight, and some very long roads, leading from the city center towards the outlying districts, from which streets often fan out in a star formation. Within these main lines, the layout of the streets is a direct result of the development and transformation of the city throughout its history. The Right Bank (“rive droite”) refers to all the “arrondissements” north of the Seine River, and the Left Bank (“rive gauche”), to those south of the river. The main central thoroughfares can help you to get your bearings. They give you an idea of the main directions and cross the city at right angles, with, in one direction the boulevard de Sébastopol running north to south on the Right bank (north of the river), and extending along the Left bank (south of the river) by the boulevard Saint-Michel; and another running from east to west with the rue de Rivoli, on the Right bank, and the boulevard Saint-Germain, on the Left bank. The names of the streets are indicated on the corner of the buildings at each intersection. As a general rule, building numbering starts at the end nearest the river, that is, from the center towards the outer areas, or from the east. Even numbers are found on one side of the street, odd numbers on the other.

THE SEINE RIVER
Bordered by 10 “arrondissements”, the Seine River flows from east to west and divides northern Paris (Right bank), from southern Paris (Left bank). It runs through the historical heart of Paris, around two islands: Ile de la Cité and Ile Saint-Louis. If you take a path along the banks of the Seine, you will come across most of the key sights in Paris: the Hôtel de Ville, Notre-Dame, Châtelet, Saint-Michel, the Louvre, Concorde, the Champs-Elysées, the Eiffel Tower and many more. Monuments represent the major landmarks on the Parisian landscape. Specific sites mark the points of the compass: the Sacré Coeur for the north, the Montparnasse tower in the south, the Eiffel Tower for the west and the Bastille column in the east. In the square in front of Notre-Dame (the central point in Paris) a bronze plaque indicates the starting point from which all distances are measured in France.

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