Ile–de–France

Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-seven administrative regions of France. It consists mostly of the Paris metropolitan area. Although the modern name Île-de-France literally means "Island of France", its etymology is in fact unclear. The "island" may refer to the land between the rivers Oise, Marne and Seine, or it may also have been a reference to the Île de la Cité, where the French royal palace and cathedral were located.

The Île-de-France was inhabited by the Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, from around the middle of the 3rd-century BC. One of the area's major north–south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité; the meeting place of land and water trade routes gradually became an important trading centre. The Parisii traded with many river towns (some as far away as the Iberian Peninsula) and minted their own coins for that purpose.