Paris is divided into 20 Arrondissementsstarting with number 1 on the right bank of the Seine and, like a snail, spiralling around the central core of the city. Arrondissements are named according to their number. For example, you might stay in the 5th arrondissement, which would be written as 5eme (or 5e) on the street signs. If you know the postal code of any address in Paris, you can easily identify which arrondissement it is located in because Parisian postal codes take the form of - 750XX - with the last two digits representing the arrondissement (e.g. 75008 is the postal code for the 8th arrondissement). Each arrondissement has its own special character which we summarise below.
Click the arrondissement on the map you want to read about
1st Arrondissement
Place Vendome and the Ritz, Place Concorde, 2 world class museums, Louvre and Orsay, 2 world class gardens, Tuileries and Palais Royal and walking distance to the Pompidou Centre and Notre Dame, all in or about the 1st, need we say more ?
Yes, we forgot to mention the shopping on rue de Rivoli, starting with BHV, the dpeartment store that sells everything including an unbelievable range of wine racks and holders!
Ile de la Cité, which straddles the 1st and 4th arrs. is the original heart of the city so when you leave it heading north or south you are close to many of the city's landmarks including the Louvre, the Latin Quarter on the Left bank, St Germain des Pres and Hotel de Ville. Ile St Louis can be accessed from the pedestrian bridge at its eastern end. The island is of course famous for its 2 world class churches, Notre Dame which needs no explanation and the less renowned but wonderfully stain glassed Saint Chapelle. Day or night it is worth the walk right to the island's western tip, beyond Pont Neuf. From the little Square du Vert Galant enjoy the view of Pont des Arts, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower in the distance and "respirez-vous" (chill out!) as the river boats pass within metres.
Emile Zola called Les Halles the belly of Paris. Today, just the pedestrianised rue Montorgeuil linking the 1st and 2nd arrs. which has been a market street since the 14th century, continues to feed Parisians with fresh produce of all sorts. Forum les Halles is now a bustling underground shopping mall but fear not as classic Parisian fashion, jewellery and art shopping can be done at the exquisite Galerie Vivienne and the Passage du Grand Cerf.
The Palais Garnier adorns the place de l'Opera which sits between the Grands Magasins of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps and the worlds top jewellery stores on rue de la Paix. Window shop your way from Opera to Place Vendome, "probably" the finest architecturally proportioned square in Paris. Here the highest rents are paid for a pitch on its north side where the worlds most expensive diamonds sparkle best in the glistening sun!
For dedicated food connisseurs Place Madeleine is a must with Maxim's, Hediard, Maison de la Truffe, La Ferme St Hubert, Maille (yes, a shop just for mustard lovers), not forgetting the ubiquitous Fauchon.
Your visit to this chic part of Paris would not be complete without a hot chocolate or dessert at Angelinas on rue de Rivoli or a cool but shockingly expensive drink in the Buddha Bar, the Hotel Costes or the Hemingway bar at The Ritz!
For off-beat clothing and accessories wander off the trendy rue Etienne Marcel and Place Victoires. With the Paris Bourse at its heart, staying in this district offers the business traveler the opportunity to work while enjoying the atmosphere and activities of daily life in the city and all the world famous attractions in the adjacent 1st.
Modern art (Pompidou Centre), old streets (Beaubourg), fashionable cafes (Le Zimmer and Le Grappe d'Orgeuil) and a pleasant array of urban fashion boutiques (rue Eteinne Marcel) make this a fun district. You couldn't be more central here as Chatelet Les Halles station connects all of Paris by Metro and RER and within its walking range are Hotel de Ville, Place des Victoires, Notre Dame, the Louvre and le Jardin du Palais Royal.
The North of this arrondissement, near Place de la Republique, is known as the Quartier Arts et Metiers (arts and crafts quarter). To the South, the arrondissement merges with the 4th and the Marais district.
Heartbreakingly picturesque and full of character, its rich history and diverse communities ensure a lively cafe scene and an unrivalled variety of speciality boutiques.
Directly across the Seine from Ile st Louis, it is the place in Paris to take a Sunday morning stroll. Try Korcarz Jewish bakery on rue des Rosiers. See and be seen sipping your caf? au lait at Le Petit Fer a Cheval or Les Philosophes or La Belle Hortense, all together on rue Vieille du Temple.
Hotel de Sully, Victor Hugo's house, the Picasso museum housed in Hotel Sale, Musee Carnavalet for the history of Paris and Place des Vosges, one of the city's loveliest squares are among the cultural attractions of this popular district.
Two of the most famous "Irish" Parisians were Joyce and Wilde and they regularly frequented the Ile Saint Louis. Arguably one of the most romantic parts of Paris, it's a wonderful place to take a stroll or sit on the berges of the Seine and watch the boats go by. The island lives in another time zone with its own distinct charm where you will find beautiful houses on single lane cobbled streets, restaurants and interesting shops. Winter or summer you must have an ice-cream at Berthillon and a hot chocolate at La Charlotte de l'Ile (be careful, madame only opens Thursdays to Sundays!).
Become a "Louisian" for your stay in Paris. On the Seine and right in the city centre it is very accessible by RER B direct from CDG airport to St Michel Notre Dame followed by a 5 minute walk (see blog tip for detailed directions) or by Metro through Cite, Pont Marie or St Paul.
On the Left Bank, the 5th and 6th arrondissements are often considered together. Overlapping with Saint-Germain-des-Pres at its western end and stretching to rue Monge to the east, the Latin Quarter takes its name from the exclusive use of Latin at all its medieval colleges. Today thankfully, a few words of French will get you by with the locals and the variety of places to see and visit in the quarter will enable you to satisfy your hunger, thirst, cultural, aesthetic and intellectual curiosity and, as always, the need to shop!
Start at rue Mouffetard so you don't run out of time at the end of your visit and miss it. A market street for centuries, you will not be the first to succumb to the fetching array of produce, glorious stacks of cheese and the aroma of roasting chickens. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, the market on the adjacent rue Monge is where to buy your lettuces, fruits and vegetables.
Book lovers should browse the dusty shelves of Shakespeare and Co. at 37 rue de la Bucherie, just off the Left Bank, across from Notre Dame. Its original American owner first published Ulysses for James Joyce, when no one else was interested. The Bouquinistes, from their green coloured stalls along the Seine will sell you anything in print on almost any subject from old books and magazines to drawings and postcards.
If time is precious and you want to get the most from your last hour or so, take the Batobus (river bus) from the stop on the quayside opposite and below the Notre Dame Gardens (great place by the way to sit on the many benches provided, eat your baguette and watch the boats go by). The round trip takes in Jardin des Plantes, Hotel de Ville, Louvre, Champs Elysses, Tour Eiffel, Musee d'Orsay and St-Germain-des-Pres. The "riverseye" view of the city is special and you can hop on and off at any of these landmarks.
Stretching from Paris' oldest church at Saint-Germain-des-Pres to the amazing Luxembourg Gardens and with probably the world's most famous university, La Sorbonne, covering much of its eastern end, this arrondissement overlaps with the Latin Quater in the 5th which means tourists and tourist oriented restaurants and shops. But with a little guidance it doesn't have to be that. Just follow the students and the intellectuals!!
Place St Michel and place and rue St.Andre des Arts are good places to start. In the surrounding narrow and bustling streets you will find the students eating in the Cafe Latin, Le Procope or l'Heure Gourmande. Three of Paris's traditional "intellectual" cafes are adjacent to Metro Saint-Germain-des-Pres - Cafe Flore, Brasserie Lipp and Les Deux Magots where they say the tips are so valuable that waiters "aprons" change hands for enormous premiums.
You can shop for fashion, food, antiques, art and everything else you can imagine on streets where specialist traders cluster together to make comparison shopping easy. Take your pick of Rue de Rennes, rue Mabillon, rue du Four, rue Princessse, rue Canettes, rue Bonaparte, rue du Vieux Colombier and rue du Cherche Midi (no. 8 is home to Poilane who, in some peoples view, bake the citys' best bread) . And you must not omit a visit to Paris's famous Left Bank department store, Le Bon Marche on rue du Sevres. The fare in its magnificient food emporium La Grande Epicerie is, as they say, to die for!
The Pantheon (where the great thinkers Rousseau, Voltaire and Victor Hugo are buried), Musee d'Orsay (not just for the best collection of Impressionists and Post-Impressionists but also the building itself), St Sulpice (it of the DaVinci code) and Jardin du Luxembourg are just some of the numerous places to spend time on the Left Bank. Choosing is the problem!
It stands over Champ de Mars and the Seine where it is bridged by the ornate and extravagant Pont Alexandre 111, leading to the Champs Elysses. It faces Les Invalides and Trocadero. La Tour Eiffel is unique whether you climb it or gaze on it from below by day or night (don't forget it sparkles on the hour for 5 minutes). Actually some say the best view of it is from the top of Tour Montparnasse.
Away from the Eiffel Tower, the local quarter is a bastion of high society behind beautifully maintained buildings. Chic shopping and eating can be had on rue Cler (Lenotre for pastries and the Cafe du Marche), rue de Grenelle (Dalloyau for pastries to match Lenotre! and Barthelemy for cheeses), rue St Dominique (l'Auvergne Gourmande where you can't avoid mixing with the French as everyone sits together at long tables) and finally rue Fabert with the incredibly chic Cafe de l'Esplanade.
Musee de l'Armee, Musee Rodin, Musee de la Mode et du Costume and Musee d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris are but a few of the enviable selection of museums and galleries in the locality.
Stretching from the Obelisk on Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe at Etoile, this is one of the world's best known thouroughfares and worth visiting for that reason alone. Beware though - you may find it is long on chains (stores and restaurants) and short on charm. That being said there is no swankier place to have tea and macaroons than Laduree or Fouquets salon de th?. If your budget is up to it or you just want to window shop, Avenue George V starting with the iconic Louis Vuitton building is a must.
The 9th is a diverse arrondissement sitting on the crossroads of Montmartre to it’s north, Place de l’Opera to the south and bordered on the east and west by the great train stations of Gare du Nord, Gare de l’Est and Gare St-Lazaire.
The southern end mixes tourism (the Palais Garnier Opera – immortalized in Phantom of the Opera, and the “Grands Magasins” of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps on Boulevard Hausmann) and business (Bourse or Stock Exchange and home of the CAC40), while the northwest has the red light district of Pigalle and the more “populaire” Clichy with its famous Moulin Rouge and bustling night life.
Two interesting museums worth visiting in the 9th are the Musee des Parfumeries-Fragonard (9 rue Scribe near Place de l’Opera), where the history of perfume over the last 3000 years is retraced in the setting of a beautiful nineteenth century mansion and Musee Grevin (10 Boulevard Montmartre).This museum, founded in 1882, has almost 250 wax figures depicting personalities from French history, the art world and politics. Bump into enigmatic film director Alfred Hitchcock in a compartment on the Orient Express, see young Mozart tinkling the ivories, and get close to well-known singers, film stars and politicians. Some of French history's most poignant moments have been immortalized, such as Joan of Arc's trial and the imprisonmthe French Revolution.ent of young Louis XVII during.
For something completely different drop into the Drouot auction house at 9 rue Drouot (Metro Richelieu Drouot). The choice at this auction-house is immense and there are always viewings in progress. Everything from furniture to art to wine, jewellery, musical instruments and antique watches are offered here. There is so much to see and buy that even if you are not an ardent collector of anything, you might just change your mind and become one before you leave for home.
With neither cathedral nor architectural landmark to draw the sightseers, this area of the 10th arrondissement around Republique, above many, has best managed to preserve an authenticity and an ambiance of industry appreciated by the many artisans who populate its apartments and workshops. Peek in the often open doors of the furniture "ateliers", for example at 37bis rue de Montreuil where 50 of them are supported by the city fathers to ensure that their skills are not lost to future generations of Parisian craftsmen.
Find Canal St. Martin, a lovely 19th century waterway with elegant footbridges. Overlooking it at 95 quai de Valmy is Antoine et Lili's fuchsia-pink, custard-yellow and apple-green shopfronts behind which you will find Bobo (bohemian and bourgeois!) clothes and home furnishing designs and, believe it or not, great sandwiches.
For a change from all things French, search out passage Brady off bd. de Strasbourg where you will find a pedestrian passage lined with Indian restaurants! Rue de Bretagne, the neighbourhood's main commercial thoroughfare has a pretty covered market called Marche des Enfants Rouges.
Don't leave the area without checking your emails at Web Bar on rue de Picardie. This three-story bar has everything from internet stations to art exhibitions to music.
A lively area that offers a bit of everything from the renaissance arcades of Place des Vosges at the edge of the 4th and the Opera de Paris Bastille to the trendy cafes, restaurants (don't miss the fruits de mer at the sublime Bofinger brasserie or the chocolate mousse at the provencale Chez Janou), cinemas and nightlife of Place de la Bastille.
Place de la Republique dominates the Northwestern end of the arrondissement and to the East, on the border with the 20th, is Pere Lachaise cemetery where Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison fans arrive from around the world to worship at their tombs!
The population of the 11th is predominantly a friendly 30 something who shop in the boutiques and galleries of rue du faubourg Saint Antoine which divides the 11th and 12th, and one of the city's top markets at Place d'Aligre, just adjacent and actually in the 12th.
One of the largest, the twelfth arrondissement stretches from Bastille to Bois de Vincennes and divides into the four main areas of Bercy, Bastille/Gare de Lyon, Daumesnil and Picpus.
Apart from the areas close to Bastille and Nation, the 12th is mainly residential and offers a calm life with parks and promenades. Around the mainline station of Gare de Lyon and some of the business districts it becomes more lively.
The Bercy district, offering cafés and boutiques in a recent conversion of the wine warehouses, is popular with the local community. The large leafy Bercy park is a welcome breath of fresh air, as is the planted Viaduct des Arts leading from Bastille to the outer reaches of the 12th. The viaduct’s arcades also house an impressive array art galleries and cafés.
The Nation district is a bustling area, often the starting point for demonstrations and is one of the principle routes into central Paris.
An arrondissement of contrasts from the grand scale of Parc Montsouris, bordering the 14th, Cite Internationale Universitaire campus, La biblioth?que Nationale de France and Italie 2 Shopping Centre to the intimate La Butte Aux Cailles neighbourhood.
Flower boxes, wisteria and roses abound through the echanting square de Montsouris and Cit? Florale. The peaceful side streets of rue de la Butte Aux Cailles and rue des Cinq Diamants, the cobble-stoned passage Barrault and Villa Daviel with its row of cottages, resemble village lanes rather than city streets.
Rub elbows with the locals in Le Temps de Cerises, an old fashioned workers' co-op restaurant and finish your visit to the district at the sumptuous outdoor market (open Tuesday, Friday and Sunday) on bd. Auguste Blanqui.
Not especially frequented by tourists since there are no great monuments here, this unpretentious neighbourhood will give you a glimpse into the Paris of Parisians, past and present.
For market lovers there is the organic market on bd. Raspail, the market street of rue Daguerre and the Sunday art market on rue du Montparnasse.
A fine place for a cafe creme and a taste of the history of Paris' literary and intellectual scene is Le Select on bd. du Montparnasse which divides the 14th from the 6th. Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway and Fitzgerald used to come here.
If you're inclined, tour the Catacombs which hold several million of the citys' dead or if you would rather stay above ground the tree-lined Cimeti?re du Montparnasse is the peaceful resting place for our own Samuel Beckett as well as Baudelaire, Maupassant (remember him on the Leaving Cert!), de Beauvoir, Sartre and Man Ray.
Parc Montsouris and Cite Internationale Universitaire campus are to the South of the 14th, and to the East, just into the 13th, is the intimate La Butte Aux Cailles neighbourhood.
The 15th arrondissement of Paris is its largest and is located in the south-west of the city on the Left Bank of the river Seine. Porte de Versailles is at its southern boundary with the Peripherique and where you should definitely consider staying if you are attending an event at Parc des Expositions, Paris' international exhibition centre and the 4th largest in Europe. Roland Garros, Parc des Princes and horseracing at Auteuil and Longchamp are accessible from here by taxi.
While the arrondissement is mainly residential, the main arteries approaching Porte de Versailles are a buzz of commerce and this corner of 15th shares the lively Montparnasse district, a hive of restaurants bars and nightlife, with the 14th.
There are several small squares and parks throughout the area, the largest being the more urban park of Andre Citroen which is on the original site of the car manufacturer
Musee Pasteur (Pasteur Museum) is housed in the apartment where the great scientist spent the last 7 years of his life. Hardly touched since that time, the museum is full of personal memorabilia and scientific instruments. Pasteur is buried on the grounds in a flamboyant mosaic-decorated mausoleum.
For restaurants, try the intimate Le Petel on rue Petel for traditional Parisian fare and for a night cap, Cafe Zinc-Zen on rue de la Convention is reputed to have a superb creme bruleee with coffee.
The livelier Montparnasse district in the 14th borders the Northeastern corner of the 15th.
A morning jog in Bois de Bologne or along the Seine as you gaze across at the Eiffel Tower and with Roland Garros, Longchamp and Parc des Princes on your doorstep, this is a great location for sports enthusiasts.
Populated by the Bourgeoise who live in its chic and expensive villas, the 16th arr. ranges from the exclusive neighbourhoods of Trocadero, avenue Foch (location of the wonderful Irish Embassy building) and avenue Victor Hugo, to the commercial district of Passy and the Auteuil markets.
The seventeenth is predominantly a high-end residential and commercial district. The south is a trendy area with good commerce and its large boulevards and traditional architecture gives it an elegant feel. The Ternes and Poncelet district is a lively market area for the local community.
Centrally, the 17th benefits from the exceptionally manicured Parc Monceau which sits between it and the 8th. Les Batignolles is an up and coming neighbourhood of young families with a mix if traditional village atmosphere and a more contemporary spirit. It offers peaceful and calm living in parts and “7 jours sur 7” shopping on the pedestrianised rue de Levis. Good food “sur la pouce” (literally on the thumb or, as we would say, on the hoof), or “sur place”, can be had along the sanctuary of good food that is rue des Dames.
The north becomes livelier and less elegant in the more popular Clichy district and as it approaches the 18th. The outer edge of the district, again, is somewhat less chic but is bustling.
Topped off with the cream puff of Sacre Coeur (made of stone that cleans itself whenever it rains), Montmartre has long been a haven for artists but today reflects an eclectic, seedy, youthful mix of locals and tourists.
Place du Tertre, Le Moulin Rouge, le Tabac des Deux Moulins (remember Audrey Tatou in Amelie!), Musee de la Vie Romantique, Musee de l'Erotisme, Cimetiere de Montmartre (Degas, Zola,Truffaut) and Vigne du Clos Montmartre (a working vineyard in the city) illustrate the range of things to see and visit in Montmartre.
You can choose to soak in the steaminess of bd. de Clichy or the funkiness of the boutiques on rue Lepic and rue d'Abbesses. The ambiance of their youthful cafes still remind the visitor of the Post Impressionists including Van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec who once drank and debated within their walls.
Over and to the North, Montmartre Hill, the 18th becomes more residential with a rich mix of ethnic and young Parisians until you reach the outer limits of the arrondissement and the city at Porte de Clignancourt - gateway to the biggest flea market in Europe.
The 19th arondissement is part residential, part industrial and not well known by tourists. Still, it's Paris and the streets are jam-packed with small green grocers, electronics shops, Chinese restaurants, pastry shops and every other type of shop you can think of.
The arrondissement is crossed by two canals, the Canal Saint-Denis and the Canal de l'Ourcq, which meet near the Parc de la Villette.
Two public parks dominate the area: the Parc des Buttes Chaumont located on a hill, and the Parc de la Vilette, which is home to both the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie, a museum and exhibition centre, and the Conservatoire de Paris, one of the most renowned music schools in Europe and part of the Cite de la Musique.
La Villette has undergone a facelift and now offers a canal side recreation park with its promenades, parks, cinemas and cafés.
The Buttes Chaumont is a family favourite and is accepted as the most dog friendly park in Paris. With its lakes, astonishing 98ft waterfall and large lawns, this steeply sloping park is one of the most surprising green spaces in the city, although the surrounding areas are quite industrial.
If you are hungry after your walk in the park then there are two of the best of the city’s 1263 bakeries nearby. The first is La Boulangerie par by Véronique Mauclerc (one of the very few female bakers in Paris by the way), an organic bakery that has a century-old wood-burning oven (83 rue de Crimee). Continue up the rue de Belleville and you'll also find Boulangerie au 140, which won an award a few years ago for the best baguette in Paris, which makes the bakery who wins it the exclusive supplier of baguettes for that year to the President at his home in the Elysee Palais !
Last but not least, be aware that this is a heavily immigrant area of Paris. There are shops here (and shop owners and their wives and children) from Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and many other countries. That makes this both an interesting 'hood for the spices, nuts, teas, dates, figs and other delicacies you will find, but it also means that on Friday nights you can expect very loud live bands playing Middle Eastern music !
The twentieth is famous only for its magnificent and probably the world’s most visited cemetery – Père Lachaise. If you too are visiting, it is best entered from the Gambetta Metro station on line 3. From here start with Oscar Wilde’s tomb and among the tree lined paths you will find the crypts of Delacrois, Jim Morrison, Moliere …. This was where the famous and infamous citizens of France and beyond wanted to be buried !
The arrondissement is otherwise a lively residential area with a friendly community feel. It has become popular with young families due to its commerce, its markets and the various parks.
To the south is the Nation district, which is a hive of commerce, cafés, markets and traffic. This popular starting point for demonstrations is also the Parisian gateway opening to the east.
It has equally good access to the ring road (Peripherique), Charles de Gaulle airport and Bois de Vincennes, the eastern counterpart of Bois de Boulogne.
