OVERVIEW - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - page 5

PAST AND PRESENT ENTWINED
Paris is, without a doubt, the most beautiful capital of the
world, and it should well be. For more than a millennium,
kings, emperors and presidents have devoted their patriotic,
religious and imaginative energies to creating their capital.
The result is Paris, a city of splendour unmatched on the
world's stage. Yet it is a city designed to be lived in as well
as admired, and it is the almost seamless weaving of the
city's intricate history into everyday life that makes the Paris
experience so rich.
It is hard not to think about Paris' history wherever you
go. Every street name is a voice from the past, from rue
Vercingétorix, which recalls the Celtic warrior who fought
against the conquering Romans in 52 BC , to boulevard
Haussmann, named after the man who, 150 years ago,
designed much of the structure of Paris today. If you are stuck
in traffic on the 36-km beltline highway, the périphérique ,
remember that your slow path traces the city's final fortress
walls of almost 200 years ago. And as you stroll, plaques on
buildings will remind you of historical events and the people
who shaped them. Wherever you are, the saga of Paris is in
plain view.
The Beginnings
It's hard to say when the city was 'founded'. A small band of
Gauls called the Parisii lived in the hills of the Paris Basin as