Paris, the capital of France, stands on the banks of which river?

Paris is built on both banks of the Seine river and on two islands in it, the Ile de la Cite and the Ile Saint-Louis. The Banks of the Seine in Paris have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

Key facts about the Seine:

• It is about 777 km long.
• It rises on the Langres plateau in Burgundy, in north-eastern France, at a place called Source-Seine.
• It flows north-west through the Paris Basin, passing Troyes, Paris and Rouen.
• It enters the English Channel through a wide estuary between Le Havre and Honfleur.
• Its main tributaries include the Marne, the Oise, the Aube and the Yonne.
• It is an important waterway for barge transport, linking Paris with the sea port of Le Havre.

Landmarks along the Seine in Paris:

Notre-Dame Cathedral stands on the Ile de la Cite. It was badly damaged by a fire in April 2019 and reopened in December 2024.

The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Musee d'Orsay and the Grand Palais all lie close to its banks.

The Pont Neuf, despite its name ("New Bridge"), is the oldest standing bridge across the Seine in Paris.

The Seine in recent news:

• The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics was held along the Seine, with athletes travelling on boats rather than marching in a stadium.
• Paris carried out a large clean-up programme so that some events could be held in the river.

Other rivers of France:

The Loire is the longest river of France (about 1,000 km), flowing west into the Atlantic. Its valley, famous for its chateaux, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Rhone rises in Switzerland, flows through Lyon and enters the Mediterranean in a delta called the Camargue.

The Garonne flows through Toulouse and Bordeaux and forms the Gironde estuary.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Loire flows through Orleans, Tours and Nantes.
• ✗The Rhone flows through Geneva and Lyon.
• ✗The Garonne flows through Toulouse and Bordeaux.