Paris, otherwise called the City of Light, is the capital city of France and has a population of 12 million. The city is the economic, political and cultural centre of France. Earlier named Lutetia by Romans, who conquered the Celtic Parisii tribe in 51 BC, it got its name Paris in 212 AD. The Hundred Years War marks the English control over Paris from 1420 to 1437. Paris witnessed a period of social and political upheaval in France, French Revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799 and is often marked as the greatest revolution in the history of mankind.

Paris was the capital of the French Empire, ruled by Napoleon from 1804-1814. In 1814, Paris was conquered by the Russians, and was again captured by the Prussian army in 1871. In 1940, the German Nazis seized Paris and with World War II, the Allied released the city in 1944. Paris has much to offer it tourists. The Eiffel Tower is the most famous sight in Paris built by Gustave Eiffel in 1889 with 18,000 pieces of iron and 2.5 million rivets. The Louvre museum, the third biggest museum, is famous for its old works of art, such as the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The building was built as a house for French kings. The Moulin Rouge is a cabaret with many shows, and it opened in 1889. It is in Montmartre, where women put on a famous dance called the French cancan. The Notre Dame de Paris is a major Gothic cathedral located in "Île de la Cité". The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur is a major church in Paris devoted to the Sacred Heart. For centuries, Paris has attracted artists from around the world, who arrive in the city to educate themselves and to seek inspiration from its vast pool of artistic resources and galleries. Paris is also the department with the highest proportion of highly educated people. The University of Paris, founded in the 12th century, often called the Sorbonne after one of its original medieval colleges, is one of the oldest universities in history.