Seen from abroad, the French capital stretches from the Louvre Museum to Eurodisney and the Grande Arche de la Défense. A city center in the heart of Paris, surrounded by a very large urban area with 12 million inhabitants. Paris Region is a highly attractive region for international investors. After the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there should be even more of them.

Did you know that Paris Region has a dozen cities the size of Toulouse? That the Paris East Marne & Bois metropolitan area has a population of over 500,000, i.e. the size of Lyon? Or that Paris-Saclay, with its 800,000 inhabitants, is as big as Marseille? Spotlight on these attractive regions, all of which, thanks to the Grand Paris Express will be linked by 4 new metro lines, 124 miles of track and 68 new stations.

Down South

Grand-Orly Seine Bièvre, 720,000 inhabitants, is Paris Region's largest metropolitan area with Paris-Orly airport, the Rungis International Market and the Icade business park. A little bit farther, the Grand Paris Sud metropolitan area, with a population of over 350,000, has a very large health center around the génopole, a very large aeronautical center and a new urban development zone, Carré Sénart. A little further west, the Vallée Sud-Grand Paris urban area and its 400,000 inhabitants are home to small and medium-sized companies as well as major international groups such as Orange, Crédit Agricole and Air Liquide. Near the Paris-Saclay campus, the Cancer-Villejuif Campus research center and the Institut Gustave Roussy, there are several research and development centers.

Farther West

After the Bois de Boulogne, the Grand Paris-Seine-Ouest urban area is home to a large number of corporate headquarters, notably in the IT, agri-food and media sectors, including TF1. A little further on, the urban landscape of Paris Ouest La Défense is home to over 562,000 inhabitants, international groups, many small and medium-sized businesses and innovation networks. To the southwest, next to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Versailles Grand Parc, the fast-developing urban area of Paris-Saclay includes a large number of universities and engineering schools, with the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, one of the world's top ten science clusters. Even further west, on the strategic Paris-Rouen-Le Havre artery, the metropolitan area of Grand Paris Seine & Oise covers an area of 193 square miles and is home to over 420,000 inhabitants. It is home to major companies such as Veolia, Safran and ArianeGroup, as well as Paris Region's leading river-sea port, the Port Autonome de Limay.

Up North

With more than 449,000 inhabitants, the Boucle Nord de Seine urban area includes the cities of Argenteuil and Colombes. As well as the port of Gennevilliers, which handles over 20 million tons of goods every year. On the northern edge of Paris, the urban area of Plaine Commune will benefit greatly from the Paris Games this summer. With a population of 450,000, it has the youngest population in Paris Region, a dense transportation network and a dynamic economy. A little further on, the Roissy Pays de France urban area benefits from intense economic activity thanks to its two airports (Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Le Bourget) and over 25,000 companies that are established there, as well as a large amount of agricultural land. 16 miles from Paris, the metropolitan area of Cergy-Pontoise, with a population of over 200,000, is undergoing a major transformation. Nearly 15,000 companies are located alongside a first-rate multidisciplinary university campus to form a booming region.

Eastbound

To the east lies the urban area of Grand Paris Sud Est Avenir. Around Créteil, a large healthcare cluster has developed, notably with the UrbanHealth project, and a major agrifood cluster around farmland. A little bit further, Paris Est Marne & Bois, 510,000 inhabitants and a film and audiovisual hub around the National Audiovisual Institute and the studios of Bry-sur-Marne. Lastly, the Est Ensemble metropolitan area has a total population of over 400,000, with cities such as Montreuil, Bobigny and Pantin. It's home to cultural and creative industries, with Ubisoft, and luxury goods, with the Hermès and Chanel workshops. 16 miles to the east, the Marne-La-Vallée area is well known for Disneyland Paris®, it also boasts other assets such as an international transportation network, historical monuments and an extensive network of companies. In fact, in Marne-La-Vallée, the Cité Descartes has become France's leading Smart City cluster, with 34 research laboratories, 1,000 researchers and 350 companies.

Did you know?

• The southward extension of line 14, a fully automatic metro, to Orly airport will allow passengers to reach the center of Paris in 26 minutes.
• Henri Selmer saxophones and Buffet Crampon wind instruments, two companies based in Mantes-la-Ville, are used by the world's greatest jazzmen and symphony and philharmonic orchestras.
• Plaine Commune will be at the heart of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games with three competition venues, the closing ceremonies, the Athletes’ Village, several celebration venues and twelve training venues.
• Paris Region's first cable car will be installed in 2025. It will link Créteil to Villeneuve-Saint-Georges via Limeil-Brévannes and Valenton.

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