13 Interesting Facts About Paris

When we hear about Paris, we seem to think about the Eiffel tower and romance spread all around the city but Paris is more than that.

A hub of French culture and an important city of the world, Paris has some interesting facts which are revealed below:

1. Paris is most famously known as “The city of lights” because of its role in ‘Age of Enlightenment’ and because it was one of the first European cities which adopted the system of gas street lights.
2. A flat was once found in unoccupied. It was locked up but the strange thing is that its rent was regularly paid for up to 70 years. When the renter died, a painting made by Boldini was discovered in the house which is estimated to be worth more than two million dollars.
3. It has the credit of being the most visited capital in all of the world. Aside from Eiffel Tower, it is home to Notre – Dame Cathedral and Arc de Triomphe.
4. Founded in 1889, Eiffel Tower was regarded as the main exhibit of ‘Paris Exposition’. It was made to commemorate the importance of the French Revolution and demonstrate the strong French industrial power, to the world. Initially made as a temporary building, the original structure was meant to be taken down after 20 years.
5. The tower is named after an engineer, Gustave Eiffel, who company is given credit for the design and formation of the Eiffel Tower.
6. Talking about strange activities and Eiffel tower, in 1954, it was scaled by a mountaineer and two Englishmen tried to parachute off the top of the Eiffel tower in 1984.
7. It is considered a common courtesy in Paris to tip the driver. Even Parisians (residents of Paris) like to tip. (But rest assured that tipping isn’t a compulsion) Normally, people give 10% of the total fare as a tip but if it’s a short trip, then 10% might be too much.
8. People are interested in knowing the average taxi prices in Paris, we will get to that but for now, and you should know that it is very difficult to own a taxi in Paris. Why? Because taxi drivers have to pay nearly €200,000 to get their license.
9. At Pont de Grenelle, there is a statue of liberty in Paris. The sculpture faces towards the American statue of liberty and is a symbol of friendship between both countries.
10. From 2nd October 2015 taxis of Paris have started accepting plastic money. All standard taxis have a card payment terminal installed in their car and they must accept your payment.
11. Paris has a living population of 2.2 million residents and almost 83 million tourists visit Paris annually.
12. An astonishing fact about Paris is that there is only one stopping sign in the ​whole of Paris. It is situated at the exit of a company’s drive, located at rich 16th arrondissement.​