Monday, December 26, 2011

Facts & Figures about Paris


Paris, with more than 2.2 million inhabitants, has always been the capital of France.

Paris's motto is "Fluctuat nec mergitur" something like "afloat without sinking ever", referring to Scilicet, the ship in the coat of arms of the city.

St. Genevieve is the patroness of Paris, symbolizes resistance to Attila in the fifth century.

Paris's city extension is quite small, only 40.7 square miles, including its two forests. The “Peripheric" belt road wholly surrounds Paris, running along almost 22 miles. In the centre of the city the density of population reaches 54,300 inhabitants per sq. mi., being one of the most expensive cities in the European Union for housing and living.

This has led to the huge Paris urban area (more than 1000 sq. mi.) and a huge corresponding population: more than 10 million people already in 2007.

The city is divided in 20 arrondissements (districts), starting by number I in the city centre, and increasing numbers in a curious shape: a snail! Each district is sub-divided in 4 quartiers (quarters).

The river Seine crosses the city during some 8 miles. The canal department of the City hall manages 68 bridges and footbridges, 37 belonging to the Seine, 32 of which are illuminated. The river reaches its highest dept at the Mirabeau bridge: 16.4 feet.

Paris is the capital with the most woodland in Europe, accounting for 478,000 trees, 120 main tree species, 8000 trees alongside the outer ring road, and 2 woods: Vincennes in the east, with 995 Ha, and Bois de Boulogne in the west, with 852 Ha. In Paris, it is easy to have a snooze in the park: more than 400 parks and gardens are kept for you all around the city.

The overall budget of the city of Paris reached 6.7 billion Euros: USD 8.75 billion just 5 years ago… There are 47,000 City Hall employees, and 49.9% of them are women...

Paris is a shopping paradise, it has the highest concentration of local shops in France, and in many other countries, accounting for more than 60,000 shops in the city.

Transportation in the city: there are 1.365 billion journeys per year in the Paris Metro - their underground-, some 15.200 taxis in circulation, and 800.000 parking spaces in inner Paris that are never enough!

There are 6,100 streets in Paris; the total length of pavements reaches more than 1800 miles, the distance between Buena Vista, NM and Orson, PA.

The longest street: Rue de Vaugirard (6th and 15th arrondissements): 2.7 miles.
The shortest street: Rue Degrés (2nd arrondissement): 18.8 feet.
The narrowest street: Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (5th arrondissement): 5.9 feet.
The broadest street: Avenue Foch (16th arrondissement): 393 feet.
The steepest street: Rue Gasnier-Guy (20th arrondissement): 17.4%.

There are more than 20,000 bicycles available at the Velib’stations (bicycles on a self-service basis), for the bikers who use the more than 230 miles of bicycle paths.

Paris has 13,260 crossroads, 9,884 benches, 107 clocks and 1,856 bus shelters. There are also 109 Wallace public drinking fountains, 1500 miles sewers and roughly 30,000 litter bins.

As a cultural capital, the numbers are amazing! With 134 museums, 143 theatres and 55 municipal libraries, there is an abundance of cultural knowledge to be obtained. Of course, the Louvre Museum is the most visited one, not only in Paris, but all around the world!! They receive 8.5 million visitors who come yearly to see their 35.000 art pieces in exhibition.

On the cinema side: 374 cinema screens with over 700 films shot per year, and some 3,500 days of film shoots. These films are viewed by more than 30 million spectators each year.

Paris is the city where cinema industry was born. On December 28th, 1895, the Lumière brothers cashed for the public debut moviescreening, at the Salon Indien of the Grand Café, on the Boulevard des Capucines.

And of course, Paris is the capital of tourism. Paris is the number one tourist destination in the world, with more than 27 million visitors every year! To go with that, 60% of hotel customers are foreign visitors, of which 1 in 3 are American or British!

Welcome to Paris!!

References:
https://film110.pbworks.com/w/page/12610310/The%20Lumi%C3%A8re%20Brothers

No comments:

Post a Comment