The banks of the Seine in Paris are a World Heritage site. At the beginning, the city of Lutetia was only on the islands at the very center of current Paris. The Seine is thus the very heart of the city and the anchor from which it developed itself. Many of Paris architectural masterpieces can be seen from the Seine, making excursion boats called bateaux mouches very popular. Over time, the muddy banks gave way to stone quays, which in some areas were turned into city highways in the 1960s. The current mayor put a halt to this and whishes to turn back the banks of the Seine into leisure areas.
