Administratively, the capital of France is included in the Ile-de-France region and, together with the surrounding area, constitutes the Parisian agglomeration. More than ten million people live within it today. Many architectural and historical sights in the center and suburbs of Paris become a reason for visiting the French capital for millions of tourists.
Old World Business Center
The La Défense district in the suburbs of Paris is called the largest business district in Europe. The first office building appeared here in the late 50s of the last century, and since then, the urban outlines of La Défense on the historic axis of the Champs Elysees have become as popular a visiting card of the city as the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre. In addition to photographing interesting objects of this suburb of Paris in the La Defense quarter, you can do profitable shopping or dine in one of the restaurants of French haute cuisine.
The era of the old order
A significant aristocratic residence in the Paris suburb of Chantilly was founded in the 16th century. Several buildings in the neo-Renaissance style, framed by a splendid park, changed owners several times throughout their history. Their list included princes and dukes, and today Chantilly invites its guests to get acquainted with the unique exhibits of the Condé Museum, including paintings by Botticelli, a rare collection of porcelain and hundreds of handwritten books, including the Gutenberg Bible, which is considered the starting point of book printing in the Old World.
Royal style
The most luxurious and famous among the suburbs of Paris is the unsurpassed palace and park ensemble of Versailles. Its construction was commanded by the "sun king" Louis XIV, and the harmony of architectural forms and the splendor of the landscape solutions of this structure left no doubt for UNESCO - Versailles was rightfully included in the World Heritage List.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, the palace ensemble in the suburbs of Paris has become a world-class museum. Here, historical documents were signed and important declarations were adopted, and it was in the Versailles halls that the end of the First World War was officially announced.
The last shelter
The Benedictine Abbey in the suburbs of Paris keeps many secrets and testimonies of bygone eras. The first basilica in Saint-Denis was built in the 5th century, and since then French monarchs have traditionally been buried here. Today on the territory of the abbey there are tombs with luxurious stone tombstones. Saint Denis became the last refuge for twenty-five kings, ten queens and several dozen princes and princesses.
The monastery church is a magnificent monument of Gothic architecture of the 12th century. Its architectural forms greatly influenced the development of Gothic in other suburbs of Paris and in the French capital itself.
