Paris

Population: 2,167,994
Time Zone: +1 UTC
currency: Euro
official language: French

Much of contemporary Paris is the result of a vast mid-19th century urban remodelling. For centuries, the city had been a labyrinth of narrow streets and half-timber houses, but, beginning in 1852, the Baron Haussmann’s vast urbanisation program leveled entire quarters to make way for wide avenues lined with neo-classical stone buildings of bourgeoise standing; most of this ‘new’ Paris is the Paris we see today.

These Second Empire plans are in many cases still applied today, as the city of Paris is still imposing the then-defined “alignement” law (building facades placed according to a pre-defined street width) on many new constructions. A building’s height was also defined according to the width of the street it lines, and Paris’ building code has seen few changes since the mid-19th century to allow for higher constructions.

Many of Paris’s important institutions are located outside the city limits. The financial (La Défense) business district, the main food wholesale market (Rungis), major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, etc.), world-famous research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry), the largest sport stadium (the Stade de France), and some ministries (notably the Ministry of Transportation) are located in the city’s suburbs.

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