Paris
Paris
Paris is in a very low-lying area
FRA N CE
called the Paris Basin, which is shaped like a massive bowl. Paris is mostly flat – but there’s one famous hill, Montmartre, that is
Montmartre
130 metres high.
Paris
Bonjour! I’m Manon, and I’m from Paris, the capital of France. River Seine
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In prehistoric times, the Paris area was underwater. The shells and bones of sea creatures made the limestone and gypsum rocks beneath Paris.
These ancient tunnels were dug into the limestone under Paris.
Paris fact
F From Roman ttimes onwards, p people have lim mined the limestone and gypsum for building materials and to make Plaster of Paris.
Who lives in Paris? Population: over 2.2 million Foreign tourists per year: over 15 million
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Landscape The River Seine wiggles through Paris, crossed by 37 bridges. The city has built up along the river.
My favourite bridge is the Passerelle Debilly. You get a great view of the Eiffel Tower from there! Passerelle Debilly
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There are two natural islands in n the Seine – the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint Louis. The Île de la Cité is where Paris began! Long ago, before the Romans came, a Gallic tribe called the Parisi lived on this island. When the Romans
Notre Dame Cathedral
arrived in 52 BCE, they built their city of Lutetia spreading out from the Île de la Cité. Today, the Notre Dame Cathedral is on the island. It was built from the limestone mined beneath the city.
Île de la Cité
Île Saint Louis
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Mines and catacombs
Lots of people go underground on the MÊtro every day. But even further down, there lies a whole other world ‌
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The old limestone and gypsum mines wind for over 280Â kilometres under the streets of Paris. Most of the mine tunnels were empty until 1786, when the old cemeteries in Paris became unsafe. Millions of graves dating back to 300
CE
needed somewhere to go.
The city decided to move the bones from the cemeteries into the mines. The remains of over six million people were moved, and the Catacombs were born.
Paris fact
T Catacombs run The ffor 1.7Â kilometres beneath P Paris, and tourists come to visit them ev every day.
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