5 Facts of France

The capital of France is Paris

Think you know everything there is to know about France' Think again! Here are a couple of fun and interesting facts.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

Located in Paris, France, the Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world with over 8,5 million visitors per year. Opened in 1793 with approximately 535 paintings, the Louvre now houses over 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art including The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. A trip to France must include a visit to the Louvre.

2

Paris has many nicknames with its most famous one, 'City of Light' or 'La Ville-Lumiere.' Being the birthplace of the Age of Enlightenment, Paris was the center of education and ideas. Also, in the late 1800's, Paris became the first European city to adopt street lighting. Street lightening was necessary; Paris was an extremely dangerous city especially at night without it. Thus, the nickname, 'City of Light' was born and has since remained. And, Paris continues to be lit up!

3

Initially considered an eyesore, the Eiffel Tower was built as the entrance arch to the World's Fair in 1889. It took two years and two months to build and one person was killed in the process. The tower has now become the most well-known symbol for Paris and France. Approximately 6,8 million people visit the Eiffel Tower every year.

4

France is the number one tourism destination in the world and Paris is the most visited city. In 2010, France saw 78,95 million tourists. France is visited for its rich history and culture, vast museums, beautiful architecture and scenery, food and wine, of course, wonderful shopping!

5

The French government does not keep statistics on religion; any information on this topic is from unofficial surveys only. Catholicism is still considered France's primary religion; religious adherence is very low. Statistics on ethnicity and political affiliation are also collected.