7 things to know about Paris

Paris, the city of light, is one of the most visited destinations in the world. The city of Paris is considered as the world capital of luxury, art of living and gastronomy. It is a city with a magnificent heritage, full of history. There are hundreds of tourist attractions and places to visit. Like the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre Museum or Montmartre. We all know the emblematic places of the city. Paris has never been as seductive as it is today, but do you know all its secrets? We are not sure, because even for a Parisian there is always something new to learn about the capital. Surprising or amusing here are our top 7 things to know about Paris. 

7 things to know about Paris

There is a bunker under the Hôtel de Ville

​This bunker was built in 1937 following the threats of a new world conflict. It is one of the 250 bunkers built under the administrative buildings of Paris. Despite the Second World War this bunker was never used. It is now used as a storage place. 

There are 5 statues of Liberty in Paris

​They have absolutely nothing in common with their New York cousin of 93 meters high except the aesthetics. You can find them in the 4 corners of the city of Paris. The most famous is the one on the Ile aux Cygnes visible from the banks of the Seine. It was made in 1884, at the same time as the original. It is also possible to find a replica in the Musée d'Orsay, two others in the Musée des Arts et Métiers and the last one in the Jardin du Luxembourg. 

More than 350 destinations serve Paris

​Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle is the 9th largest airport in the world in terms of traffic with 76.15 million passengers. More than 350 destinations serve it. With for example flights from Tokyo, Rio but also a flight from Atlanta to Paris, or a flight from Denver to Paris. 

The Place des Etats-Unis was called the Place de... Bitche

​The Place des Etats-Unis is a typical Parisian square located in the 16th arrondissement. However, the square was not always so named as it was called Place de la Bitche until 1881 when the American embassy moved there. Bitche, comes from the name of a town in Moselle which had heroically resisted the Prussians during the war of 1870.

The McDonald's of Saint-Lazare is in reality a historical brewery of the XIXth century

​Built in 1892, the building with the atypical achitecture today classified as a historical monument, was originally an Alsatian brewery. The facade - on which Gambrinus, the "king of beer", is enthroned - has remained virtually unchanged for 129 years and is now home to a McDonald's. It continues to amaze Parisians.

There are a dozen ghost metro stations in Paris

Long of 225 km and spread over 14 lines, the Paris metro network is one of the busiest in Europe. Few people know it, but there are a dozen ghost stations. For example the "Porte Molitor" station, is now used as a garage for trains. Or the Porte des Lilas station, which is now used as a film location.

The Eiffel Tower should have been called... Koechlin-Nouguier Tower

​The engineers Emile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin were the ones who designed the most famous Parisian monument. On the occasion of the International Exhibition of 1889, France wanted a "grandiose" project to mark its renewal after the Prussian conflict from which it had emerged bloodless. Although Gustave Eiffel had the idea of a metal structure, it was his two engineers who worked on the project of a "300 meter tower". A first draft did not seduce the boss, but a few months later, significant improvements made by a French architect, Stephen Sauvestre, will win the favor of Gustave Eiffel ... who will appropriate the patent and attach his name to the tower.

Bonus

​there are 29 cities in the world named after Paris (the most famous being Paris, Texas), immortalized in the film by Wim Wenders, released in 1984, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival that same year.

​VISION Destinations | September 2022