The capital of France from time immemorial has been considered a real treasure of the nation with a centuries-old culture and incredible charm. Every year it is visited by millions of tourists who want to get to know the most amazing places. If you ask the citizens to tell you the most interesting facts about Paris, you can hear many inspiring stories about fashion, great cuisine and the Arc de Triomphe. But there are more fascinating details that will not be written in guidebooks.
Eiffel Tower and unusual information about it
A significant part of tourists visiting Paris, from the first day of their stay in the city, tries to look at the most recognizable architectural landmark - the Eiffel Tower. About 7 million people want to climb it every year, and in order to provide each visitor with an entrance ticket, the authorities have to use at least 2 tons of paper. Sometimes the main symbol of France is visited by up to 30 thousand people a day.
What notguides will tell:
- The Eiffel Tower weighs 10,000 tons and is 325 meters high. At the same time, the entire structure is assembled from 18 thousand elements fastened together with 2.5 million rivets.
- The tower requires 25,000 garbage bags a year and hundreds of liters of detergent.
- The main attraction is painted every 7 years. To do this, workers clean off the old coating from the surface, treat it with anti-corrosion protection, and then apply 60 tons of paint. This costs the budget about 4 million euros.
- Every year, the symbol of the capital of France is deformed - under the influence of the sun, the steel frame of the tower expands, and its top deviates to the side by 18 cm.
- The planned dismantling of the Eiffel Tower was supposed to take place 20 years after its construction, but the design was useful for installing antennas in the era of radio.
But if, after returning from a trip, you want to visually demonstrate interesting facts about Paris and France to your friends, the photo of the Eiffel Tower at night should not be posted online, because its lights are protected by copyright, and such actions are considered a violation of the law.
Street signs
Walking along the city buildings, very often you can see several signs with names at once, which are located directly one above the other. It turns out that earlier officials could not agree on the height at which the signs should be placed, so new signs appeared on the walls of buildings, while the old ones remained in their original places. Alsomany old-timers, mentioning interesting facts about Paris, say that under modern metal signs there are street names carved on stone - they were left after the revolution.
Transport in the French capital
Visiting France, tourists are not only impressed by the Eiffel Tower, the unique architecture of Paris, delicious food and trendy shops. It also becomes surprising for them to travel on a mode of transport that is familiar to everyone. It turns out that there is a self-service system in the metropolitan metro - here you will not be able to see employees at the turnstiles or hear station announcements. In addition, you will have to close and open the doors in the cars yourself.
The following interesting facts about Paris may also surprise you:
- there are more and more bicycles in the city - today there are up to a thousand kilometers of bike paths on its territory, and the air previously polluted by cars is becoming cleaner;
- The metropolitan underground transport system is one of the oldest in all of Europe, and annually it transports about 1.5 billion passengers; Metro in Paris is the 6th busiest in the world.
Surprisingly, the city of love has only one stop sign.
Another symbol of France
Of course, some of the most interesting facts about Paris and photos are printed in guidebooks, but only once in this city, you can see passers-by who carry a baguette under their arm. Turns out it's another characterFrance, and this method of carrying is an old tradition. The most popular French baked goods are called croque madam and croque monsieur, which are fried slices with butter and filling. They are sold in almost every store.
Paris for fun lovers
Also interesting facts about Paris relate to the cultural part of the city. So, on its territory there are 84 cinemas (367 halls), where you can watch one of the 500 films. More than 300 performances are held in the capital's opera every year, and 208 theaters can accommodate 70,000 people. In addition, there are 8 thousand cafes with terraces in the city, and locals do not recommend sitting at tables on the street because it is forbidden to smoke in the premises. It turns out that this is the only way to make the waiters be more efficient and bring the bill faster. Parisians, and seasoned travelers alike, know that restaurant staff are worried about customers leaving their order unpaid.
Many interesting photo facts about Paris are full of buildings with ancient architecture and unusual sculptures. But restaurants in the capital are just as important attractions as historical monuments, and their names are very often found on the pages of world magazines.
Where did the famous expressions about Paris come from
Often in literary sources and in conversation there is the phrase "flew like plywood over Paris", and its appearance,most likely connected with the film "The Ballooner", in which circus performer Ivan Zaikin, who decided to become an aviator, goes to the capital of France. In one episode, he takes to the skies in a plywood airplane, but his aircraft still crashes.
As previously mentioned, the construction of the nail-like Eiffel Tower was timed to coincide with the World Exhibition held in 1889, and the construction made a splash. Since then, the expression "highlight of the program" has appeared.
A trip to the most romantic place in Western Europe will allow every tourist to learn new interesting facts about Paris, get acquainted with ancient traditions and customs, and also admire simple but unexpected little things.
