33 Interesting Facts About Paris (By a Local)

The cultural, historical, and downright odd facts about Paris have continued to delight and interest me in my ten years as a Paris local. 

You might love Paris because of its incredible restaurants, museums, and abundance of things to do. But learning some of the more unusual and important facts about the city can make your trip even more exciting. Or, they might even inspire you to plan your next trip to the City of Light.

Here are the most fun and important facts about Paris!

33 Fun and Interesting Paris Facts

1. Paris Has More Than a Hundred Museums

Paris houses around 140 museums. These include some of the most famous worldwide such as the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Musée Carnavalet. The city also has less well-known museums like the Musée de Magie and the Musée de la Marine. [Source]

2. Paris Has Two Natural Islands

The River Seine has two natural islands in Paris, the Île Saint-Louis and the Île de la Cité. Île Saint-Louis is 11 hectares; Île de la Cité is 22.5 hectares. Île de la Cité houses the Notre Dame Cathedral. [Source]

3. The Eiffel Tower is in the Public Domain, but Not Its Lights

French law dictates that any work of art is copyrighted for the artist’s life plus seventy years. Gustave Eiffel, the engineer responsible for the Eiffel Tower’s construction, died in 1923, so the Eiffel Tower entered the public domain in 1993. However, Pierre Bideau created the tower lights in 1985. These are legally his artwork, separate from the tower itself. These are still copyrighted. [Source]

4. The Eiffel Tower Was Supposed to Be Temporary

The Eiffel Tower, built in 1886, was supposed to stand for only 20 years. However, creator Gustave Eiffel promoted its scientific potential as a high point for experiments. Eiffel used a third-floor room for his scientific work. Today, visiting the monument is one of the best things to do in Paris. [Source]

5. Paris’s Map Looks Like a Snail

Paris has 20 arrondissements (districts). These begin with the first, at the center of the city, and spiral outward to the 20th. The spiral the map creates resembles a snail, giving rise to the nickname. [Source]

📚 Related Reading: Where to Stay in Paris

6. Paris is Home to the World’s Largest Art Museum

The Louvre is the largest art museum in the world both in square feet and in objects displayed. The museum covers 782,910 square feet. It displays around 38,000 objects. Its collections include more than 500,000 items. [Source 1, 2]

7. Paris Used to Have a Different Name

Paris was named “Lutetia” when it began as a Gallo-Roman town. The French now use the word Lutèce. The use of the name “Paris” began in the third century CE after the Gallic tribe Parisii. Lutetia meant “place near a swamp.” [Source 1, 2]

8. Paris Has More Than 6,000 Streets

Paris has 6,486 streets. Of these, only 4% have the names of women. In contrast, 31% have men’s names. This has led to some feminist groups calling for changes. [Source 1, 2, 3]

9. The Shortest Street in Paris is Less Than 20 Feet Long

The shortest street in Paris is the rue de Degrès in the 2nd arrondissement. It is 5.75 meters long, or around 18.9 feet. It fits fourteen steps into that space. [Source]

10. Notre Dame’s Largest Bell Has a Name

One of the interesting features of Notre Dame Cathedral is that it has 10 bells. The largest received a recasting in 1681 when King Louis XIV gave it the name “Emmanuel.” Emmanuel weighs 13 tons and rings the note F sharp. [Source]

11. You Can Find Roman Ruins in Paris

The Romans conquered Paris in 52 BCE, and parts of their settlements remain in the city. You can find parts of Roman buildings in the Musée de Cluny, 5 rue de la Colombe, and the archaeological crypt on Île de la Cité. [Source]

12. There Are 11 Km of Catacombs Beneath Paris

The City of Paris sits over 11 km (about 6.8 miles) of catacombs, part of which serves as an ossuary. City planners created the catacombs in the 18th century to deal with overflowing cemeteries. They opened to the public in 1803, but it is only possible to tour sections of the catacombs. [Source]

13. Paris’s Nickname is the City of Light

Some argue that Paris’s nickname, the “City of Light,” comes from the city’s early use of electric street lamps in the nineteenth century. However, the nickname dates back more than 150 years earlier, to the Enlightenment. Important thinkers like Voltaire and Diderot worked in Paris, contributing to the “Age of Light,” as the French call the era. [Source]

14. Paris Was One of the First Cities to Have Street Lighting

Paris’s street lamps date back to the 17th century when King Louis XIV ordered their installation. These received improvements over the centuries. Finally, the government installed the first electric street lamps in 1878 at the Avenue de l’Opéra. [Source]

15. Disappointed Visitors May Get Paris Syndrome

Paris’s great reputation may harm visitors. Some visitors who are let down by the city’s reality have experienced hallucinations, sweating, and delusions. Variations of these Parisian travel symptoms have been recognized as a phenomenon called “Paris Syndrome.” [Source]

16. Pont Neuf Wasn’t the City’s Ninth Bridge

Anyone who took first-year French would translate “Pont Neuf” as the “ninth bridge.” However, Pont Neuf isn’t the ninth oldest bridge in Paris. Instead, it’s the oldest. King Henri IV built it in 1607. The bridge’s name is ironic, though: it means “new bridge.” [Source]

17. A Bartender in Paris Invented the Bloody Mary

Cultures mixed perfectly when Fernand Petiot created the Bloody Mary. Petiot was an American bartender at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. He combined vodka and tomato juice to create the cocktail in the 1920s. During this era, luminaries such as Ernest Hemingway frequented the bar. [Source]

📚 Related Reading: Must-Try Foods in Paris

18. The Louvre Museum Building Has Served Different Purposes

The Louvre buildings date to the 12th century. It originally served as a fortress. Royalty then moved into the Louvre during the 14th century and used it as a palace. The Louvre didn’t become a museum until the French Revolution in 1791. [Source]

19. Paris Has 118 Michelin-Starred Restaurants

Paris has more than a hundred restaurants with Michelin stars. Restaurants with one Michelin star are the most common: there are 94 of them. Fifteen Parisian restaurants have two stars, and nine restaurants have three stars.  [Source]

20. The Eiffel Tower Isn’t Paris’s Most Popular Landmark

The Eiffel Tower symbolizes Paris around the world. However, it isn’t the city’s most visited landmark. Instead, the Louvre Museum won this honor, with 7.7 million visitors in 2022. In contrast, the Eiffel Tower received only 5.8 million visitors that same year. [Source]

21. Paris is Home to More Dogs Than Children

Paris is home to more than 300,000 dogs. In other words, there’s one dog per seven humans. In contrast, there are only 293,700 children between the ages of 3 and 17. [Source]

22. Paris Employs People to Count Trees

The Parisian government conducted an official survey of trees. They employed a group of people to take stock of all the trees in Paris The final tally? Around 484,000 trees total. [Source]

23. Tom Cruise Can Never Be Parisian

The French city of Marseille made Tom Cruise an honorary citizen. However, the Parisian government responded that they would never do so. Cruise is a Scientologist. The 2005 Parisian government considered this a dealbreaker. It publicly announced they would never give Cruise the same honor. [Source]

24. The Riverbanks of Paris Are Named According to the Water Flow

Visitors looking at maps of Paris may wonder why the two banks are called “Left” and “Right” banks. After all, they look like they should be the “North” and “South” banks. But riverbanks traditionally receive “left” and “right” names according to the location of the banks from downstream. [Source]

25. Marie Antoinette Died in Paris

Although most people associate Marie Antoinette with the Versailles Palace, she died in Paris. Her execution took place at what is now the Place de la Concorde. At the time, it was called the Place de la Révolution. [Source]

26. One Ugly Building Saved Paris’s Architectural Integrity

Paris’s first skyscraper was also its last. The Tour Montparnasse, built in 1973, drew criticism as a blight on the landscape. Shortly after its construction, the Paris city council forbade buildings taller than 121 feet.  [Source]

27. Paris Began as an Island

The oldest part of Paris is in the middle of the River Seine. The first settlement was located on what is now the Île de la Cité. A Gallo-Roman tribe called the Parisii inhabited this area as early as the third century BCE. [Source]

28. Paris Has More Than 400 Parks and Gardens

Paris is the greenest capital city in Europe–literally. It has 400+ parks and gardens. These Paris parks range from small squares like the Place des Vosges to large parks like the Buttes Chaumont. [Source]

29. Paris Has No Stop Signs

Paris no longer has stop signs. The government removed the last stop sign in 2016. Now, traffic lights have replaced these. Meanwhile, the “priority to the right” rule minimizes confusion. Learn more in my guide to driving in Paris.  [Source]

📚 Related Reading: Is Paris Safe?

30. People Swam in the Seine Until the 1920s

Despite pollution from the Industrial Revolution, Parisians swam in the River Seine until the government banned it in 1923. Some even swam after the ban. Today, the city continues to try and clean the water so that swimmers can enjoy it again.

If you want to swim while you’re in Paris but aren’t too keen on diving into the Seine, no worries! You can actually swim in pools that float atop the Seine, to get the best of both worlds. I recommend the pool, Annette K – it’s one of my favorite hidden gems in Paris.

31. Paris Gets a Beach in the Summer

For 20 years, the Paris government has created a beach on the riverbanks of the Seine and the Villette canal. On summer days in Paris, you can find sand and beach chairs along the water. Look for “Paris Plage” signs. [Source]

32. The Oldest House in Paris Belonged to a Harry Potter Character

The oldest house in Paris dates to 1407. Nicolas Flamel, a middle-class Parisian, owned it. Author J.K. Rowling later gave Flamel an interest in alchemy in the Harry Potter books. Today, the house still stands as a private residence. Interested visitors can dine in the ground-floor restaurant. It’s one of the best things to do in Paris. [Source]

33. There Are Five Parisian Statues of Liberty

Many people know that France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States. But fewer know that the United States gave one back! The smaller statue, dating from 1889, is on the southern end of the  Île aux Cygnes in Paris. The city has four replicas, though. [Source]

FAQs About Paris

***

I hope these facts about Paris helped bring the city’s history to life, whether you’re trip planning, currently visiting, or just interested in Paris.

Continue the fun with my list of fun and interesting facts about France as a whole.