Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city sits on the Seine at the heart of the Île-de-France region and had about 2.04 million inhabitants in the city proper in January 2026, with 13.3 million in the metropolitan area. It is divided into twenty arrondissements and is nicknamed the "City of Light".

Monocle ranked Paris No. 1 in its Quality of Life Survey 2025 and No. 8 in 2026. Condé Nast Traveller (UK) readers placed it No. 2 in the Readers' Choice Awards 2026, with a score of 97.14, citing its food culture, monuments and museums, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the restored Notre-Dame. Oxford Economics put it No. 3 in its Global Cities Index 2026, and Resonance Consultancy also ranked it No. 3 in World's Best Cities 2026, calling it "the most compelling urban symphony on the planet" and pointing to the city-wide 30 km/h speed limit and more than 600 miles of bike lanes.

According to Wikipedia, Haussmann's renovation in the 19th century gave Paris its boulevards, parks and public works, and in 2024 Charles de Gaulle was the busiest airport in the European Union. Wikipedia describes the Louvre as the world's largest and most-visited museum, and parts of the city along the Seine have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. Paris is also home to UNESCO, the OECD and several other international organisations, and Resonance notes that the city has 123 Michelin-starred restaurants.

Sources of this text: Wikipedia · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) · Oxford Economics · Monocle · Resonance Consultancy