General de Gaulle made straight for the city centre and there, at the Hotel de Ville, he made his first speech to the citizens of a free Paris.

BBC: Part Two - France and Memory

Visitors to the city can take leisurely strolls along the paths and look out onto the historic islands Ile St Louis and Ile de la cite and iconic Paris monuments including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Hotel de Ville.

BBC: The Seine gets a controversial makeover

Despite the convenient Hotel de Ville metro station just near my flat, I have become one of the growing number of militant Paris cyclists, cycling to work and back every day up the Rue de Rivoli and then back home on the Rue de Faubourg-St Honore.

BBC: Caroline Wyatt cycling through Paris