Paris and it's Metropoletan Area

Roughly circular in shape, Paris proper has an area of 105 sq km (41 sq mi).

It is bounded by a 35 km- (22 mi-) long ring road called the Boulevard Périphérique.

Paris proper constitutes one of eight départements of the Île-de-France region.

The Paris metropolitan area stretches over the three adjacent départements, which are known as the inner suburbs (la petite couronne), and extends into the fringes of the four larger, surrounding départements, known as the outer suburbs (la grande couronne).

The city is divided into 20 political units called arrondissements.

The numbering of the arrondissements spirals outward like a snail shell, starting from the western part of the Île de la Cité, then moving clockwise all the way to the 20th arrondissement in eastern Paris.

The Seine enters Paris in the southeast, loops north, and then curves to the southwest before leaving the city.

Many of the city’s greatest monuments lie on the banks of the Seine, which were designated a World Heritage Site in 1992 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Seine provides the simplest division of the city:

The north side of the river is known as the Right Bank (Rive Droite) and the south side as the Left Bank (Rive Gauche).

The Right Bank contains 14 arrondissements, while the Left Bank contains 6.

In addition to arrondissements, Paris is made up of neighborhoods, or quarters (quartiers), usually of historical, cultural, or monumental origin. These neighborhoods do not always have clearly defined boundaries.



(1) ISLANDS OF PARIS
(2) RIGHT BANK OF SEINE RIVER
(3) LEFT BANK OF SEINE RIVER
(4) SUBURBS OF PARIS