Paris history

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...” thus begins Charles Dickens’s mighty novel A Tale of Two Cities. It tells of Paris and London, during the French Revolution. It was a Paris of sickening poverty and sickening wealth, of riots and terror, and of the guillotine. In Paris, the revolution lives on.

Because of the Seine River, Paris has been a centre of dwelling and trade since pre-Roman times. But fertile flood lands and a strategic position meant it also attracted a fair share of power grabs, most notably between the Celtic tribe known as the Parisii (from whom Paris is named) and the Romans, and later between Roman rulers. By the medieval era, Paris was a bustling Christian city with a government, infrastructure and educational establishments.

By the times that Dickens describes, Paris became the centre of the French Revolution, with the storming of the Bastille and the overthrow of the monarchy. Fortunately, much of the pre-revolution buildings survived the flame. During the restoration, when monarchy (briefly) returned, a period of building continued. After the February Revolution of 1848 and the birth of the Second Republic, Paris capitalised on the industrial revolution and the advent of the steam train that led to a massive influx of rural migrants.

By 1852, city planning under Napoleon III saw its medieval streets flattened and replaced by wide sweeping avenues – of which the Champs-Élysées is the most famous. The rest of the century were tumultuous times for Paris, but its position as a world centre was cemented by the 1889 Exposition Universelle during which the Eiffel Tower was built.

In the early 1900s, Paris enjoyed the Belle Epoque period which saw the building of the Opera Garnier. During WWII, Paris fell to the Nazis who adored the city and left it intact.

Paris today is the most visited city in the world, but it’s not without its problems. Issues around immigration are at the forefront of Parisians’ mind, no matter what their political persuasion. It occasionally spills into violence; usually in the suburbs. And the Paris of the next decade will change, notably its skyline with several skyscrapers planned. But it is coupled with a real motivation to make it an ecologically sustainable city. It is in no danger of losing its appeal.