of France. Situated on the Seine River, in the north of the country, it is in the center of the Île-de-France region, also known as the région parisienne. The City of Paris has a population of 2,249,975 inhabitants (January 2011), making it the fifth largest city in the European Union measured by the population within the city limits. Paris and its suburbs have a population of 12,292,895 inhabitants, making it the second or third largest metropolitan area in Europe, with London and Berlin, depending on the area measured.

Paris was founded in the 3rd century BC by a Celtic people called the Parisii, who gave the city its name. By the 12th century, Paris was the largest city in the western world, a prosperous trading centre, and the home of the University of Paris, one of the first in Europe. In the eighteenth century, it was the centre stage for the French Revolution, and became an important centre of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, a position it still retains today...............................