Founded on the island where a natural north-south highway crosses the Seine River, some 233 miles from the river mouth on the English Channel, Paris, the largest city proper of continental Europe and the capital of France, is over 2,000 years old.

Paris was conquered by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, and existed as a regional center under the Romans. In 987, Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, became king of France, and under his successors, the city's position as the nation's capital became established. The storming of the Bastille in 1789 was the first of a series of key actions by the Parisian people during the French Revolution. In 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War the city was besieged for four months until France surrendered. After German troops withdrew, French radicals briefly established the Paris Commune. During World War I the Germans were prevented from reaching Paris, but they occupied the city during World War II from 1940 to 1944. Paris was again the scene of violence during the student riots of 1968.

In addition to its many older buildings and the grandeur of its boulevards, Paris is known for the ambitious grands projets building program carried out under the presidency of François Mitterrand. In addition to the La Défense arch and the Bastille Opéra, Mitterrand's projects have included the renovation of the Louvre by architect I. M. Pei, the La Villette complex on the northeastern edge of the city, and the Bibliothèque de France.