Question 1

True or false: The Romans built the Eiffel Tower as a watchtower in 50 BC.

Accepted Answer

False. The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 by Gustave Eiffel—Romans had no role; this is a common anachronistic myth.

Question 2

True or false: Paris was originally a Roman city called Lutetia.

Accepted Answer

True. The Parisii tribe settled there, and Romans later named it Lutetia Parisiorum, eventually shortening to Paris.

Question 3

True or false: The Eiffel Tower was originally built as a temporary structure for the 1889 World's Fair.

Accepted Answer

True. It was meant to be dismantled after 20 years, but was saved because it proved useful for radio transmissions.

Question 4

True or false: Paris has no skyscrapers because the city banned buildings over 12 stories tall.

Accepted Answer

False. False. The Montparnasse Tower, at 210 meters, is a skyscraper inside Paris, completed before height restrictions were enacted.

Question 5

True or false: Paris's catacombs hold the remains of over six million people.

Accepted Answer

True. Bones were moved from overflowing cemeteries in the 18th century, creating a vast underground ossuary.

Question 6

True or false: The Louvre was originally a fortress built to protect Paris from Viking raids.

Accepted Answer

False. It was a medieval fortress built by King Philip II in 1190, but to defend against English invasions, not Vikings.

Question 7

True or false: There is only one public guillotine site left visible in Paris today.

Accepted Answer

False. Multiple plaques mark former guillotine locations in Paris, such as at Place de la Concorde and Place de la Nation, so more than one public site is visible.

Question 8

True or false: Paris is known as the City of Light because it was the first city to install streetlights.

Accepted Answer

False. It earned the nickname from its early adoption of gas street lighting in the 1820s, but it wasn't the first—London was earlier.

Paris Trivia Questions