Paris | |
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Paris (French pronunciation: [paʁi] (listen)) is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,148,271 residents as of 2020, in an area of more than 105 square kilometres (41 square miles). Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, science and arts. The City of Paris is the centre and seat of government of the Île-de-France, or Paris Region, which has an estimated official 2020 population of 12,278,210, or about 18 percent of the population of France. The Paris Region had a GDP of €709 billion ($808 billion) in 2017. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2018, Paris was the second most expensive city in the world, after Singapore, and ahead of Zürich, Hong Kong, Oslo and Geneva. Another source ranked Paris as most expensive, on a par with Singapore and Hong Kong, in 2018.The city is a major railway, highway and air-transport hub served by two international airports: Paris–Charles de Gaulle (the second busiest airport in Europe) and Paris–Orly. Opened in 1900, the city's subway system, the Paris Métro, serves 5.23 million passengers daily; it is the second busiest metro system in Europe after the Moscow Metro. Gare du Nord is the 24th busiest railway station in the world, but the first located outside Japan, with 262 million passengers in 2015. Paris is especially known for its museums and architectural landmarks: the Louvre was the most visited art museum in the world in 2019, with 9.6 million visitors. However, the number of visitors plunged by 72 percent to 2.7 million visitors in 2020, due to the COVID virus and the drop in the number of foreign visitors.
The Musée d'Orsay, Musée Marmottan Monet, and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art.
Liverpool | |
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Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. Its population in 2019 was approximately 498,042, making it the tenth-largest English district by population. Liverpool's metropolitan area is the fifth-largest in the UK with a population of 2.24 million.Liverpool is on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary and historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in North West England's county of Lancashire. It became a borough in 1207, a city in 1880, and a county borough independent of Lancashire in 1889. Its growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, and raw materials such as coal and cotton, merchants were involved in the slave trade. In the 19th century, Liverpool was a major port of departure for English and Irish emigrants to North America. It was also home to both the Cunard and White Star Lines, and was the port of registry of the ocean liners RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania, RMS Queen Mary, and RMS Olympic.
In 2019, Liverpool was ranked fifth on the list of the most visited UK cities. It is noted for its culture, architecture, and transport links. The city is closely associated with the arts, especially music; the popularity of the Beatles, who are widely regarded as the most influential musical group in history, cemented the city's status as a tourist destination. Since then, Liverpool has continued to produce many notable musicians and record labels—musicians from the city have produced 56 No. 1 hit singles, more than any other city in the world. It also has a long-standing reputation as the origin of various actors and actresses, artists, athletes, comedians, journalists, novelists, and poets.