PARIS BY ARRONDISSEMENT - A short history and description
The city of Paris is divided into 20 different neighbourhoods called arrondissements. The 20 Arrondissements are grouped in the form of a clockwise spiral, beginning with the 1st in the middle of the city on the right bank (north bank) of the Seine River.
You can easily identify which arrondissement an address is located in because Parisian postal codes take the form of - 75000 - with the last two digits being equal to the arrondissement (e.g. 75004 is the postal code for the 4th arrondissement).
Here is a short overview of these different areas of Paris. You can just click on the arrondissements to see all the apartments Paris Rental Connections offers in that area. The links in the main paragraphs apply to a property in the street or location described.
The 1st is the geographical centre of Paris where you find the Palais du Louvre, which houses one of the most stunning collections of artworks in the world and was for almost seven hundred years the principal residences of the kings and emperors of France. In 1559, Catherine de Médicis, had a large garden built in Italian style, reminding her of her native Tuscany called the Jardins des Tuileries which were later redesigned in French formal style by André Le Nôtre, the celebrated gardener of King Louis XIV, the Sun King.
The Musee de l'Orangerie displays the "Nymphéas" painted by Monet, a masterpiece of modern art and other paintings covering a period from Impressionism to Abstract Art. Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani are all to be seen there.
The Jeu de Paumes was constructed in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III and originally housed real tennis courts; the old name of this game in French is jeu de paume (palm game). The building set in the Tuileries Gardens, close to the Place de la Concorde and opposite the Orangerie is now an exhibition space for contemporary photography. The Palais Royal was originally built as a palace for Cardinal Richelieu, and then bequeathed to the French Crown and boasts the first theatre in France to have moveable scenery. Its design is in keeping with the symmetry of the houses around the square which include the impressive building that houses the Comedie Française -- the national theatre of France.
The 2nd is primarily a business district with the Paris Stock Market (the Bourse) and the Bibliothèque Nationale, and also boasts the famous Rue Montorgueil market.
3rd & 4th These 2 arrondissements make up the Marais, one of the oldest districts in Paris. Many 17th century "Hotel Particuliers" that once housed the noblest families in Paris are still to be seen here, testimony of which is the beautiful renaissance arcades of Place des Vosges. A few steps away is the Musée Carnavalet, The Hôtel Carnavalet, after which the museum is named, was once the home of Madame de Sévigné and chronicles the history of the capital from its origins to our day.
The Marais is a lively neighbourhood with a strong alternative lifestyle scene as well as lots of trendy bars, shops, and restaurants. The rue des Rosiers is a centerpiece of Jewish lifestyle in Paris and the Ile St. Louis and the Ile de la Cité are literally the oldest parts of Paris where the first stone of Notre-Dame Cathedral was laid by the bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully, in 1163.
On the new end of the Marais is the Centre Georges Pompidou where you'll find a lot of the very best contemporary art.
Heading north into the Arts-et-Métiers quarter, take a detour to the Rue au Maire, a narrow street dating back to 1280. Continue up Rue Volta (the location of at least one of the oldest houses in Paris) to the Musée des Arts et Métiers, a museum illustrating humankind's progress in science and technology. Don't miss the richly painted interior of the 12th-century Eglise St-Martin-des-Champs, where Foucault's pendulum and Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty models are displayed.
To the east is the quartier du Temple, located between Place de la République and Arts-et-Métiers it was once the domain of the Knights of Templar, and this once quiet, northern section of the Marais has new restaurant, bars and trendy shops opening up.
Le Marche des Enfants Rouges (corner of Rue de Bretagne and Rue Charlot) is the oldest food market in Paris, built in 1615 under the rule of King Louis XIII.
The Latin Quarter takes its name from the Sorbonne, where Latin was the common language for students in the Middle Ages. It has the feel of a small village with its winding streets. The rue de Buci market -- nestled between the metro stops of Mabillon and Saint Germain des Près -- is the city's embodiment of the French love affair with food and is one of the prime people-watching streets in the neighbourhood.
St Germain des Pres, is the area of the 6th arrondissement, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés originally built in the 6th Century, Now called Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
St-Germain-des-Prés came into vogue in the 20th century as the centre of intellectual and artistic life, home to smoky jazz clubs and literary cafés. The area has undergone gentrification and is now very up-market, its narrow side streets and passages are full of art galleries, bookstores, boutiques and cozy café terraces or more glitzy ones like the Café Les Deux Magots, and one block down, the Café de Flore. These two traditional Parisian cafés were frequented by artists and writers such as Picasso, Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Verlaine, and Rimbaud.
The Place Saint-Sulpice is considered a very chic address (Catherine Deneuve lives here), with exclusive designer boutiques slowly edging out the Catholic bookstores selling crosses and statues of the Virgin. But no amount of contemporary glitz can overshadow the real star of the square, the massive Eglise St-Sulpice. Commissioned by the abbey de St-Germain-des-Prés for the local parishioners in 1646, it's one of the largest churches in Paris, with several paintings by Delacroix and a world renowned organ built in 1862.
At the corner of Rue de Sèvres and Boulevard Raspail is the majestic Hôtel Lutetia, the Left Bank's only palace hotel, and the historic Bon Marche, the Left Bank's only department store.
Walk down Rue du Cherche Midi, and stop at Poilane, a very famous Parisian baker whose signature bread has become a feature of many a Parisian café's menus. Check the butter cookies, crunchy and deliciously buttery.
The French Senate is housed inside the Palais du Luxembourg and in front of the building lies the Senate's garden, the Jardin du Luxembourg, open to the public.
The 7th is home to Paris' most famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower, as well as the Musee d'Orsay, Ecole Militaire and Invalides. A lot of international residents and embassies are located in this very wealthy area.
The 7th arrondissement runs from Rue du Bac to the Eiffel Tower. The area around rue de Grenelle and rue St-Dominique was the classy area where the aristocracy moved from the Marais in the 18th century. They built grand 'hotels' which today are the home of embassies and ministries. Hotel Matignon, at No. 57 rue de Varenne, is the residence of the Prime Minister and The Hotel de Biron at No. 77 is now the Musee Rodin, which has a lovely garden and is open to the public.
One of the city's most popular museums, the Musée d'Orsay was originally a train station built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, it was closed in 1939 because modern trains grew too long for the station. After almost being torn down, it re-opened as a museum in 1986 to house a permanent collection of mostly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography, and is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces by such painters such as Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne.
The Hôtel des Invalides complex was built by Louis XIV in the 17th-century as a military hospital and retirement home for up to 4000 soldiers. It included the vast grass esplanade stretching to the Seine, the soldiers' church St-Louis-des-Invalides, and the royal chapel Eglise du Dôme. In 1840, Napoleon's exhumed remains were placed in the tomb under the chapel's golden dome, almost twenty years after the emperor's death in exile on St-Helena. Today Les Invalides is home to the Musée de l'Armée, one of the world's largest collections of military weapons and uniforms from antiquity through WWII.
The 8th is an upscale neighbourhood which is in fact quite diverse. The area around the Champs Elysees has lots of shopping and tourist sites like the Arc de Triomphe The Arc is the linchpin of the "historic axis", a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace to the outskirts of Paris' La Defense - a modern version of the Arc de Triomphe. Visitors can go to the top of the Arc for a panoramic view of Paris and see the set of twelve major avenues leading to the Étoile as the Arc is known.
In the area to the East, between the Champs Elysee and Place de la Madeleine you will find a mixture of 19th century buildings intermingled with businesses.
The 17th has a more residential feel with young up-and-coming families. The western part of the 17th arrondissement stretches from the Arc de Triomphe, the Avenue des Ternes to Place de Wagram and contains the Parc Monceau and two of the great restaurants of Paris, Guy Savoy and Michel Rostang. The area known as the Batignolles on the east is closer to Montmartre and has more of a village feel, far from the bustle and noise of the big avenues. It has a bobo (Bourgeois Bohemian) atmosphere, with convivial and trendy restaurants. The nerve centre of the quarter is located at the Eglise des Batignolles, not far from the Square des Batignolles.
The 9th is a diverse residential area popular among the artistic crowd. The diversity of this arrondissement is due, in part, to its geography and bordering districts as it leads gently uphill from south to north to approach the buttes Montmartre.
The Southern portion is similar to the 2nd arrondissement, with a mix of residential and business buildings. The Paris Opera, and famous shopping of Galleries Lafayette are located here. To the northwest is the red light district of Pigalle and the more 'populaire' with its famous Moulin Rouge and bustling nightlife.
The little quiet area just south of Pigalle called So-Pi has been undergoing a process of gentrification in recent years, with an influx of affluent and artsy foreigners.
In the 10th are the two great train stations of Paris: the Gare de l'Est and the Gare du Nord. This multi-cultural neighbourhood also contains a young bohemian feel with The Canal Saint-Martin district, located in Northeastern Paris, being one of the most tranquil and picturesque spots the city has to offer. In the spring and summer, locals flock in droves to the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin to picnic and strum guitars. Cafés and quirky boutiques flank the water crossed by iron footbridges. On Sundays, two streets running parallel to the canal, Quai de Valmy and Quai de Jemmapes, are reserved for pedestrians and cyclists -- perfect for renting a bike and seeing the city from a fresh angle. Another possibility is to take a tour of the canal by boat. Visitors of all ages should find something to love alongside the Canal Saint-Martin.
The 12th arrondissement from the Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes is generally residential but has been regenerated and become trendy since the building of the L'Opera-Bastille. The Bastille Opera was built by the architect Carlos Ott and inaugurated on July 14, 1989. A modern but not very pretty building, its original purpose was to give opera to all people at reasonable prices. The Colonne de Juillet dominates Place de la Bastille. It marks the site of the prison known as the Bastille which was stormed by the Mob in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution. In the subway station beneath the square, stones from the Bastille's foundation can still be seen.
The 13th arrondissement is a residential neighbourhood; it includes Paris' largest Chinatown, there is another in the northeast at Belleville, and is the home of the famous Goblin Tapestries. Near the river is the new Bibliotheque Nationale de France of Francois Mitterand and there is a lively nighttime scene on music bars moored on the Seine.
Montparnasse and the Cité Universitaire are found in this residential district traditionally known for its lively cafés and restaurants around the Bd Montparnasse. The 15th, is a large district and primarily residential and and ranges from very upscale in the area bordering the 7th arrondissement and the Seine, to relatively safe and affordable in the more outlying areas.
Bois de Boulogne, Trocadero. The 16th arrondissement is a wealthy, conservative, residential neighbourhood with many impressive homes. It includes a concentration of museums between the Place du Trocadero and the Place d'Iena. Further to the west, is the Bois de Boulogne One of the most spectacular parks in Europe ... You could spend days in the Bois de Boulogne and still not see everything. The neighbourhoods of Auteuil and of Passy, attached to Paris in the 19th century, have an almost village ambiance. Balzac lived in Passy where he wrote La Comedie Humaine and his home is open to visitors. Nearby there is also the Musee du Vin.
Montmartre - This artsy residential neighbourhood has a small village feel and is crowned by its famous white basilica the "Sacre Coeur" that can be seen the moment you reach the outskirts of Paris. The Sacre Coeur is at the top of the highest hill at 130 metres high giving the visitor a grand vista over the whole of Paris. Walking at random across Montmartre, you will discover gardens, old houses, steep streets and staircases with splendid Paris views. Visit the last Vineyards in Montmartre where wine is still produced at the top of the Rue des Saules. Picasso's 1905 oil painting "At the Lapin Agile" helped to make the Lapin Agile cabaret on rue des Saules world famous.
The cabaret was often captured on canvas by another artist, Maurice Utrillo and also frequented by Gauguin. Montmartre is also famous for other painters like Renoir, "The Garden in the rue Cortot", painted in 1874, resulted from a brief time when Renoir rented a studio in Montmartre. He chose it for its location near the Moulin de la Galette one of the last two remaining windmills still standing, which he made famous by his grand painting of Sunday afternoons spent dancing there.
On the Buttes-Chaumont just to the east of Montmartre is the Buttes-Chaumont Park, which was created under the city planner Baron Haussmann in 1864-67. A bare hill, half hollowed out by abandoned tunnel quarries and filled with the refuse of generations, was turned into a romantic landscape with a lake, a waterfall, a grotto, winding woodland paths, and picturesque bridges.
The area surrounding it is very residential with many ethnic restaurants and shops.
In the 20th you have Belleville, with its narrow streets, workshops and garden passages that recall the neighbourhood's rural and working class roots. Once a wine-making village well outside the city walls, Belleville became known in the 18th century for its countryside guinguettes, where Parisians would come on Sundays to let their hair down with the help of tax-free wine.
The Père-Lachaise cemetery is one of the most fashionable final resting places in Paris - The most famous residents buried there include Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Colette, La Fontaine, Modigliani, Gertrude Stein, Alice B Toklas, Marcel Proust, and Delacroix.
Thanks to Heather Stimmler Hall's "Secrets of Paris" -- The alternative insider's guide to Paris
