The Arrondissements of Paris The City of Paris was divided into arrondissements during the nineteenth century to aid the administration of the rapidly growing city and supply the needs of its burgeoning urban population. Effectively, at a stroke, the City of Paris was divided into 20 mini-municipalities each with its own mayor (maire) and town hall (hôtel de ville). Each arrondissement has its own character, its own place in the history of Paris, the Church or the State, its own attractions, entertainments and the influences of immigrant populations that have made them their own over the last few centuries. France is rightly proud of its own culture and Paris is without doubt its showcase for the world. The arrondissements of Paris are packed with architecture from across the centuries, restaurants with food from all over France and the world, the finest hotels, forested parkland, live entertainment from the theatre both traditional and experimental, live music from l'Opera to live rock to smooth jazz and of course crazy French drivers! Thankfully Paris also has the wonderful Metro to help the enthusiastic tourist get around Paris, cheaply and in comfort. The arrondissements are numbered in a clockwise spiral; beginning with number one right in the heart of the City. If you live in the 7th arrondissement it would be abbreviated as 7ième or even (as on the map below) 7e. 1st Arrondissement - Central Paris, Le Louvre, Les Tuileries - The numbering system begins at the geographical center of the City of Paris; the 1er is naturally a target for tourists housing as it does no less than three former Royal Palaces; Le Louvre, Les Tuileries and the Palais Royal. The 1er also has a decent length of River Seine frontage. 2nd Arrondissement: La Bourse - Less for the tourists here, essentially the Parisian financial district, though it does house the the Bibliothèque Nationale 3rd Arrondissement - The Marais, Musée Picasso - Between them the 3e and 4e arrondissements contain one of the most historic areas of Paris, Le Marais, home in the seventeeth century to France's most noble families. Even today many of their mansions still exist having survived several revolutions, wars and occupations to form a quiet neighbourhood in the heart of Paris. 4th Arrondissement - Notre-Dame Cathederal, Hotel de Ville, Pompidou Centre - the 4e stretches along the northbank of the Seine and comprises what is the center of the Marais and contains both the Ile St. Louis and the Ile de la Cité, which are the original and, therefore, oldest parts of Paris. Nonetheless, the contrariety of the 4e's current ambience to that of its neighbour's (3e) and it's own history is very marked. It is a bustling area full of trendy cafes, bars, shops and restaurants. There is a strong alternative lifestyle influence at work in the 4e unlike the quiet 3e and their aristo history. However, there is a touch of history still at work in the 4e as the rue des Rosiers is still the fulcrum of Jewish llfestyle in Paris. 5th Arrondissement - The Latin Quarter - La Sorbonne - The famous Latin Quarter. Thankfully you no longer need to speak Latin here but its common usage was how the area got its name. In the Middle Ages the academic lingua franca of Europe was Latin and the University of Paris, The Sorbonne was housed in what is now the 5e arrondissement. It is still here and the students give the 5e a distinctly different feel from any of the other areas of Paris. The Latin Quarter was the scene of the famous student protests of 1968. The 5e will always be special to me as it is where I first stayed in Paris on a school trip back in 1972. We stayed at a Lycée on the bvld St Michel. However, it is the rue Mouffetard is the artery of the Latin Quarter where shops, international restaurants and student bars and cafés are located. 6th Arrondissement: Saint-Germain-des-Prés St Germain was once the home for writers and artists seeking the freedom of a Bohemian lifestyle 7th Arrondissement - Eiffel Tower, Des Invalides 8th Arrondissement - Arc de Triomphe, Champss-Elysées, Place de la Concorde 9th Arrondissement: Opéra 10th Arrondissement: SNCF Gare Nord et Gare Est 11th Arrondissement: République 12th Arrondissement - SNCF Gare de Lyon, Bastille Opéra 13th Arrondissement: Place d'Italie 14th Arrondissement: Montparnasse 15th Arrondissement: Parc des Expositions 16th Arrondissement: Bois de Boulogne 17th Arrondissement: Porte Maillot 18th Arrondissement - Montmartre, Sacré-Coeur 19th Arrondissement: Cité des Sciences 20th Arrondissement: Père Lachaise Cemetery