Travelling to Paris (1)

The Queen of Cities”, “The City of Modernity”, “The Capital of the Civilised World”, and of course “The City of Light”. These are all phrases commonly used to describe the French capital Paris. It is not easy being all things to all people, but Paris – a worldly (mundano) city if ever  there was one – bears the weight (lleva el peso) of this role with style and grace, and from all indications it will continue to do so throughout (a lo largo de) the twenty-first century.

Dividing up the City

 Paris sits in the northern central area of France, about 170 kilometres south of the English Channel in a geographical area called the Paris basin.(cuenca) The city has an oval shape (forma oval) that is about 13 kilometres across at its widest point (punto más ancho). The River Seine flows (fluye) from east to west in an anti-clockwise (en contra de las agujas del reloj) arc through the middle of the city. The Seine has always played a key role in the city’s life and development since its beginnings as a fishing village, and using it as a starting point is a good way to get a feel for the city’s convoluted (enrevesado) yet (aunque) intriguing layout.(trazado)

The Île de la Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine from which Paris was born, contains the Notre Dame cathedral and the old royal palace. The north or Right Bank (Rive Droite) of the river contains most of the city’s business, shopping and cultural landmarks,(puntos de referencia) while the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) is famous for its bohemian artistic and student atmosphere.

The city is divided into twenty urban districts known as arrondissements, arranged in a spiral fashion (en forma de espiral) with the Louvre at the epicentre. The city proper (ciudad en si ) has a population of 2.1 million, but the Greater Paris metropolitan area is home to more than 11 million, making it, after London, the second largest metropolitan area in Western Europe.

Paris is a truly (verdaderamente) cosmopolitan city, with a fifth of its residents having been born outside of France. The newest waves (olas) of immigrants come from China, Africa and Latin America. Although the city proper has been losing inhabitants as people migrate to the suburbs in search of more space and lower rents, Paris continues to be one of the most densely populated places in Europe, with more than 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre.

Greater Paris is an economic powerhouse (centro neurálgico), generating more than 25 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product of France. One reason that Paris is so important economically is because its economy is very diversified, with important business, trade,(comercio) manufacturing, education and government centres located throughout the metropolitan area.