The most romantic legend about the founding of Paris belongs to the historian Rigord, who claimed that Paris was founded by Trojans who emigrated to the banks of the Seine after the capture of Troy by the Atreides. To reality, there is probably a closer version linking Paris with the tribe of the Parisians who lived in these places 23 centuries ago.

At the turn of the old and new era on the island of Sita (now the heart of the city where the Cathedral of the Notre Dame is located) Julius Caesar built a Roman fortress near Paris (which at that time was called Lutetia). And until the 5th century AD the city was under the jurisdiction of the Romans.

Turned into the capital and cultural center of Europe, Paris became in the early 12th century. Although the brilliance and luxury of subsequent eras Paris was still far away. Yaroslavna, the queen of France, who came from Kiev for permanent residence to her husband Henry the First in those years, was greatly disappointed by Paris.

The real heyday of the city began in the 13th century, during the reign of Louis the Saint. The construction and improvement of Paris could not be interrupted either by an epidemic of plague that had wiped out half of Europe, a languid Hundred Years War, or numerous riots and uprisings. Beautiful palaces and mansions are erected, parks are being broken up, the artistic elite of the Middle Ages is flocking to Paris.

Despite the fact that Louis XIV moved his residence to Versailles, Paris remained a trendsetter and a center of secular entertainment, a place where the true history of France was based.

The inhabitants of Paris took part in three French revolutions. During the First French Revolution, the fortress-prison of Bastille was taken.

Subsequently, the Bastille was destroyed, and on the site of the citadel a sign was mounted, the inscription on which read: "From Here on, Dancing". Indeed, on the day of the Bastille, which became a national holiday in 1880, parades, processions and balls are held throughout Paris.