Did you know? · Paris
Paris fun facts
Things you might not know about Paris. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated October 2026
A World Heritage river
UNESCO lists “Paris, Banks of the Seine” (1991): the river from the Pont de Sully to the Pont d’Iéna, with the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle (whc.unesco.org).
A baguette defined by law
Decree no. 93-1074 of 13 September 1993 reserves the name “pain de tradition française” for bread made only with wheat flour, water and salt, risen with baker’s yeast or sourdough, with no additives and never frozen (Légifrance).
Swimming in the Seine
Since 2025, the City of Paris has opened supervised swimming spots in the Seine each summer, at Bras Marie, Grenelle and Bercy (paris.fr).
Six termini
Paris has six main railway stations, each serving its own part of France and Europe: the Gare du Nord, the Gare de l’Est, the Gare de Lyon, the Gare d’Austerlitz, the Gare Montparnasse and the Gare Saint-Lazare (SNCF).
Questions and answers
Is Paris a UNESCO World Heritage site?
The banks of the Seine in Paris are, since 1991.