Paris, France

Paris, France. The Seine River; the Louvre; Disneyland Paris; the Eiffel Tower; the Champs Elysees; the Musee de Cinema; the Pantheon; Parc de Monceau; Bois de Boulogne; Notre Dame Cathedral; the Eglise de la Madeleine; the high-speed Eurostar Train to London. Let's make this vacation a long one.

The City of Light, a name Paris earned during the age of the Enlightenment, is made up of several arrondissements or districts, numbered from 1 to 20 and logically ordered with the first in the center and the others following in a clockwise spiral has an estimated population of 2.2 million. July tends to be the warmest in Paris reaching an average high temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) and January and February being the coolest with an average low temperature of 1 °C (34 °F).

An important settlement for more than two millennia, Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centers. Its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science and the arts combine to make Paris one of the most popular cities in the world. Paris and the Paris Region, produces more than a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) of France. The Paris Region hosts 38 of the Fortune Global 500 companies in several business districts, notably La Défense, the largest purpose-built business district in Europe. According to the latest survey from Economist Intelligence Unit in 2010, Paris is the world's most expensive city to live in.

The Paris region receives forty five million tourists annually, sixty percent of whom are foreign visitors. The city and region, as we mentioned above, contains an array of iconic landmarks, world-famous institutions and popular parks. Be sure to visit Place de la Bastille, go shopping on Champs-Élysées, a seventeenth century garden-promenade-turned-avenue connecting the Concorde and Arc de Triomphe, and Avenue Montaigne, home to luxury brand labels such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Dior and Givenchy. Perhaps you'd like to see the burial place of Napoleon at the Invalides museum?

The Eiffel Tower, who would have guessed a "temporary" construction by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Universal Exposition would become such a significant landmark? The tower was never dismantled and is now an enduring symbol of Paris. Speaking of enduring symbols, want to see the Statue of Liberty? One stands in the Jardin du Luxembourg. An information panel on the pedestal claims that this statue is a bronze model used by Bartholdi as part of the preparatory work for New York's Lady Liberty.

Le Pere Lachaise Cemetery in eastern Paris is a major tourist draw. Buried here are many french artists, philosophers, scientists and statesmen. There are also important people of other countries buried here including Amedeo Modigliani the Italian painter and sculptor, Nestor Makhno a Ukrainian revolutionary, Milosz Magin a Polish composer, as well as Jim Morrison of the Doors.

Taking the kids? The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is one of the most popular attractions in Paris, and it's also a great attraction for families traveling with kids. The biggest science museum in Europe, it is a public establishment of an industrial and commercial character specializing in the fostering of scientific and technical culture. The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is located in Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement and was founded in 1986.

Paris. So much to do, so much to see, so much more then a pretty face!