As good a place to start your exploitation of the city is from the Cathedral of Notre Dame. This is not because it is a magnificent cathedral, a gothic masterpiece with a superb 13th century façade described in all the tour guides but because this is where it all began. This is where on and island in the middle of the Seine, a convenient bridging point, the Celtic tribe called the Parisii had settled and survived the later Roman invasion by accepting their rule and prospering under the opportunities to trade. The Ile de La Cite and the left bank is where the Romans settled and to this day is considered to be intellectual heart of Paris. It is also known as the Latin Quarter, probably so named because the students here spoke Latin until the revolution. The area still boast medieval streets and Roman remains. A walk along the left bank up to the Eiffel tower takes you passed the book sellers stalls that hark back to the intellectual past.

It is however all to easy to get distracted and go to the Right Bank, the original business, district across the Pont Neuf bridge standing since 1607. Proceeded by numerous other bridges, since pre Roman Times, mostly wooden bridges collapsing under the weight of buildings being placed on top, being hit by boats, weather or in the case of Pont St-Louise in 1634 the weight of a religious procession.

The Right Bank expanded rapidly when the monarchs decided to move form the Ile de la Cite to spacious new accommodation. The first fort was build by Philippe-Auguste between 1204 and 1223 over which was later built the building for which the area is justifiably famous. The Louvre and the, at the time, controversial glass pyramid built in the front and has now become the main entrance to the public. Over time the various monarchs turned the Louvre into the largest royal palaces in the world and is now considered to be one of the best art galleries. In total there are over 18 miles or 32 km of corridors. Not something to all be attempted in a single day.

The view of Paris today, of wide open tree lined boulevards and geometrical city lines came at, as some would say, the clearance of centuries of history. Other would claim - A grand slum clearance. In 1853 Louis-Napoleon appointed Georges-Eugene Haussmann Prefect of Paris with a remit to rebuild the city. Prior to this on 26 March 1852 a law had been passed permitting the 'Ville de Paris' to compulsory purchase land and property standing in the way of the project. It took the next seventeen years to re-build the city, at the end of which the city had a sound sanitation system, better water supplies, street lighting, better access to the railways and a vast array of new buildings making it, as many would claim, the most beautiful city in Europe.

Over the years Paris has continued to build outstanding examples of architecture and nowhere more impressive than at La Defense named after the stand against the Prussians in 1870. The concept was to preserve the city centre from over development and allow a thriving business community. Although to many the glass fronted tower blocks may look soulless the way the reflect each other, the light and the sky it offers a modern grandeur reflecting the scale of the boulevards. With the Grande Arche de La Defense inaugurated in 1989 to celebrate the bicentennial of the revolution, a modern day version of Napleon's 1806 Arc de Triomphe.