The River Seine is the heart and life blood of Paris. Not only does it divide the city in two, between the Right (Rive Droite) and the Left Bank (Rive Gauche), without it there would be no Paris. The existence of the Seine was the reason why it was originally settled by the Celtic tribe, the Parisi in 259 BC, as a fishing village and as a valuable trading route. The Parisi tribe who lived on the Ile de la Cite built the first bridges in Paris in 52BC, before being conquered by the Romans. Today in Paris there are 37 bridges crossing the Seine, and the riverbanks are listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Many of the city's most famous monuments line the river banks.
