The City of Light-this famous moniker could not and will never be enough to explain the whole that is Paris. From its origins as a small settlement of boatmen and traders on the banks of the Seine to its current role as France's largest city, Paris has certainly come a long way. Paris is called the city of lights because it was and is the center of education, culture and commerce in France. However, the city is slowly extending its way outward, welcoming the influence of other cultures as well as it loves it own.

Parisians , previously known for their class, glamour and xenophobia, have dropped the latter and now are becoming more open to the idea of a new world where knowledge of foreign food and languages can also be considered good thing, a new city where Parisian taxi drivers and shop owners can converse as easily in English as they do in French, and where new cuisine is as accepted and loved by the locals as much they love their world-famous croissants, coq au vin and foie gras.

And of course, there will never be a Paris without its famous landmarks. Tours around the Eiffel, Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe and the Sacré-Coeur, topped by stops on the famous Parisian cafes lure visitors from all over the world. However, a visit to Paris is not at all defined by glimpses of monuments of the past. Paris is also a modern city, exemplified by the futuristic visions of the makers of the Grande Arche de La Défense and the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie. These, and the grandeur that is Paris as soon as night falls on the Parisian sky, truly make this modern metropolis the city of light.