Paris Pratique II: Paris Layout

Paris intra muros (literally, within the city walls) is organized by arrondissement.  There are twenty of these administrative districts laid out in a snail pattern beginning with the Louvre and most of the Ile de la Cité in the 1^st arrondissement, spiraling around clockwise and ending midway through the third loop with the 20^th arrondissement at the north-eastern edge of Paris, abutting the Parc de Vincennes. Each arrondissement has its own city hall, or mairie which all coordinate with and report to the Mairie de Paris, located at the Hôtel de Ville in the 4^th. The Seine river runs through the city, further dividing the city into rive gauche (Left Bank) and the larger rive droite (Right Bank). This is not only a geographical division, there is also a historic ‘town and gown’ distinction with banking and business institutions traditionally located on the rive droite (town), and the universities, beginning with the Sorbonne in the 13^th century, on the rive gauche (gown).

Addresses are given with the street number, name and arrondissement, often including the closest métro station as well, e.g., 9 rue Malher, 4ème, M: St. Paul.  The 1^st-4^th, 8^th-12^th, and 16^th-20^th arrondissements are on the rive droite (Right Bank) and the 5^th-7^th, and 13^th-15^th arrondissements are on the smaller rive gauche (Left Bank).  Famous Left Bank neighborhoods are the Quartier Latin/Latin Quarter (M: St. Michel, 5^th), the historic university quarter centered around La Sorbonne and the elegant St. Germain des Prés (M: St. Germain des Prés, 6^th).  The Marais (M: Arts et Métiers, 3^rd and M: St. Paul, 4^th arrondissements), with its eclectic mix of garment district, gay nightlife and Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods; the Bastille area (M: Bastille, 4^th, 11^th, 12^th arrondissements) that fans out from the Place de la Bastille with its Colonne de Juillet, commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 and not the 1789 taking of the Bastille; and the Sacre Coeur church up in the old village of Montmartre (M: 18^th) are on the Right Bank. 

Streets are numbered beginning from the Seine.  On the Right Bank, the street numbers increase as you go north, or away from the Seine.  On the Left Bank, they increase as you go south, or away from the Seine.  On streets parallel to the Seine (generally east-west oriented), numbers increase following the current of the Seine towards the west.  Street numbers are even on the right and odd on the left as the numbers increase.

Asking for Directions: Où est _____? Où se trouve _____ ?

Parisians generally orient themselves in relation to the river and not in east-west terms. They will often point you in a general direction and suggest that you go for a while and then ask for directions again. A common reaction for American tourists is to ask a policeman for directions. This is almost always a bad idea, unless you just want to chat with a gendarme, because they generally are not from Paris and have been deposited on their street corner with little knowledge of the neighborhood. You’d be much better off asking someone with a rolling shopping cart, a parent with a young child in tow or an older person, all of whom are more likely know their way around the neighborhood. People who work in an area are often only familiar with their immediate surroundings. 

Paris par arrondissement

Quick overview of Paris arrondissements :

1er/1^st             The Louvre and the Palais Royal (M: Palais Royal), are located in

the western half of the district.  Les Halles (M: Châtelet-Les Halles), the former site of the city market and now a huge underground shopping center and métro and RER hub currently undergoing massive renovation occupies the eastern side of the district along with the Châtelet theaters and the western half of the Ile de la Cité where 13^th century Sainte Chapelle and the civil courts are located (M: Cité). 

2ème/2^nd        The lively Montorgueil market, pedestrian zone and fashionista hangout (M: Etienne Marcel), the financial district Paris Stock Exchange (M: Bourse) and the old Bibliothèque Nationale are here along with numerous 19^th century shopping arcades, or passages from the Galerie Vivienne to the Passage des Panoramas and the Grands Boulevards. The second district touches on the Place de l’Opéra (M: Opéra).

3ème/3^rd        Along with the 4ème arrondissement, this neighborhood makes up the Marais, a once swampy area drained in the 13^th century.  Home to the oldest Chinese community in Paris (rue au Maire, M: Arts et Métiers) and site of many 17^th century mansions,  quiet residential areas (along the rue de Bretagne with its covered Marché des Enfants Rouges), wholesale leather goods  and clothing shops, the Jewish Art and History museum, quirky shops.

4ème/4^th         The center of the Marais, this is a lively neighborhood with a strong alternative lifestyle scene as well as lots of trendy bars, shops, and restaurants. The rue des Francs-Bourgeois ends at the Place des Vosges, Paris’ oldest square.  The area around rue des Rosiers and rue Pavée, the Pletzel and hub of Jewish life in the years before World War II, retains its Jewish identity with kosher shops, a synagogue and yeshiva, within an eclectic jumble of cutting edge fashion and resale shops. Notre Dame and the Ile-Saint-Louis are also in the 4^th.

5ème/5^th         The fabled Latin Quarter. This neighborhood takes its name from the Sorbonne, where Latin was the common tongue for all students during the Middle Ages. There are many small cinémas along rue Victor Cousin and rue des Ecoles. Dance on the quais of the Port Saint Bernard near the Institut du Monde Arabe and the Jardin des Plantes. The rue Mouffetard, beginning with the Place de la Contrascarpe, retains its student atmosphere with many inexpensive restaurants, shops, student bars and cafés.

6ème/6^th         St. Germain des Prés. Once the hangout for bohemians and intellectuals, now filled with upscale boutiques and art galleries. Don’t miss: Rue Buci, Saint-André-des-Arts; rue du Four, rue de Rennes; Café Flore, Les Deux Magots, and of course the Jardin du Luxembourg, the beautiful gardens behind the French Senate. Nice children’s playground (small fee), ponies and puppets, and picnics.

7ème/7^th         The Eiffel Tower, Quai Branly, Musée d'Orsay, the Invalides with its grassy esplanade and military museum, the Rodin museum and gardens and the rue Cler market street are to be found in this very upscale neighborhood.

8ème/8^th         Home to one of the most famous avenues in the world, stroll down the Champs Elysées with everyone else and enjoy the show. The Parc de Monceau is worth a stroll, especially after a visit to the nearby house museums, Musée Nissim de Camondo or Musée Jacquemart-André. The Gare Saint-Lazare and the Eglise de la Madeleine, in the middle of scrumptious luxury food offerings, form the eastern border of the 8^th.

9ème/9^th         A diverse residential area popular among an artistic crowd. The Paris Opera and the Printemps and Galeries Lafayette Grands Magasins, or Department Stores, are located here. Farther North is the Place Pigalle, famous for its dancing halls, the Moulin Rouge and Les Folies Bergère. The Passage Jouffrey houses the Musée Grévin. The Olympia, is a well-known concert venue on the Grands Boulevards.

10ème/10^th     The two great train stations in Paris are here, the Gare de l'Est and the Gare du Nord. Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis is a great market street with restaurants and food vendors from Turkey, India, Pakistan, and African countries. Passage Brady is known for its Indian restaurants, the rue du Château d’Eau for its African hair dressers. The Canal Saint Martin offers a nice stroll, a drawbridge and swing bridge and hip cafés.

11ème/11^th      A lively area for evening entertainment on Rue de la Roquette and excellent Thursday and Sunday market at Richard Lenoir, beginning at the Place de la Bastille.

12ème/12^th      Place de la Bastille and the Opéra Bastille are found here. The Marché d’Aligre, the Viaduc des Arts and the Promenade Plantée which lead to the Bois de Vincennes, and Bercy Village along the river.

13ème/13^th      Residential Right Bank neighborhood, that includes the new Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) as well as another Chinatown around Place d’Italie.

14ème/14^th     Montparnasse and the Cité Universitaire are found in this residential district traditionally known for its lively cafés and restaurants around the Blvd. du Montparnasse. La Coupole and Le Dôme are on the 14^th side.

15ème/15^th     This large primarily residential neighborhood ranges from very upscale in the area bordering the 7th arrondissement and the Seine, to more affordable in the more outlying areas. Numerous medical research institutes are here, near the Institut Pasteur and the Children’s Hospital, Necker Enfants Malades. The Parc André Citroën borders the Seine and the exhibition space at Porte de Versailles hosts giant food fairs like the Salon de l’Agriculture.

16ème/16^th     Bois de Boulogne, Trocadéro. Although it is not as exclusive as the 7th arrondissement, the 16th is widely regarded as the neighborhood for the wealthy. The Esplanade at the Palais de Chaillot (Place du Trocadéro) offers the best view of the Eiffel Tower.

17ème/17^th     Rien à signaler, abbreviated as R.A.S., meaning nothing to report or no comment.

18ème/18^th     Touristy Montmartre with the Sacre Coeur and the Place du Tertre, residential and artsy Montmartre at the Place des Abbesses, hidden Montmartre on Villa Léandre.

19ème/19^th     Parc de la Villette and the Cité des Sciences, Canal de l’Ourcq, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont.

20ème /20^th    Belleville and the Père-Lachaise cemetery (resting place of Jim Morrison and Molière). The area is becoming quite lively due to influx of many young residents who appreciate the relatively reasonable cost of living.