A Parisian explains his city’s 20 arrondissements

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Paris? To many Britons, Americans and other foreigners, Paris is a staple of romanticism, culture, beautiful architecture, erotism and prestigious buildings and districts such as the Eiffel Tower or Montmartre.

It is, however, considerably different to the eyes of French people and particularly Parisians. 

The Connexion’s Théophile Larcher, who grew up in the city, gives a summary of what each of the 20 districts of Paris represent to Parisians and French people.

The districts work as a ‘snail’. The centre of Paris is made up of the first four districts. It then turns clockwise and keeps enlarging within the borders of the Péripherique ringroad.

1st arrondissement

Paris’ first district is mostly a tourist area. It starts behind the Place de la Concorde, around where the American and British embassies are located (8th district), and finishes around Châtelet Les Halles, the most crowded place in Paris and the metro station with the most lines.

Many of the most prestigious hotels are located around here, including the Ritz, the Meurice or the Saint-Honoré. 

Rue de Rivoli is perhaps the district’s most known street, bordering the Jardin des Tuileries, the Louvre museum or the Place Vendôme.

The few people who live there are among the wealthiest in France.

2nd arrondissement

Above, smaller and more confidential than the 1st, the 2nd arrondissement is a rectangle between Rue de la Paix to the west - the Boardwalk or Mayfair in French Monopoly - Rue Sébastopol to the east, Bd de Bonne Nouvelle to the north and rue Etienne Marcel to the south.

It is known for its galleries, most notably the Galerie de la Bourse where numismatists are located and the Galerie Vivienne, or rue Saint-Anne - nicknamed Little Tokyo - where many Asian restaurants have opened.

3rd arrondissement

The crossroad of the fashion district to the north and Le Marais, the gay district located in both the third and fourth districts, to the south. It is often one of the most overlooked districts of Paris.

4th arrondissement

A district that contains various vibrant and different subcultures in Paris. 

Its northern part is Le Marais, the quartier Saint-Paul and its village, and the Place des Vosges, a verdurous square and one of the most expensive areas of Paris.

It is also where Rue des Rosiers is, a street known for its falafels.

Its eastern part borders the Canal Saint-Martin and Place de la Bastille. The south absorbs the eastside part of the Ile de la Cité and Notre-Dame as well as the totality of Ile Saint-Louis, two of the oldest parts of Paris where half of apartments are owned by foreign owners.

You are not yet on the rive gauche, the left bank of the river Seine, as Parisians say.

5th arrondissement

Now you are. 

A fairly big district, it is the district of writers and intellectuals because of its universities (Pierre et Marie Curie, Sorbonne, Jussieu, ENS), top schools (Henri IV, Louis-Le-Grand, Saint-Louis) and many bookshops or the bouquinistes.

That intellectual atmosphere has faded a little over decades but its magnetism remains intact. The core of Paris’ soft power is encapsulated in many of its streets.

Emily Cooper, the main protagonist of Emily in Paris, finds a ‘small’ 70 square-metre chambre de bonne (former maid’s room in the attic) on the notoriously ‘dodgy’ rue de la Contrescarpe.

It also is the district of the Institut du monde arabe as well as the Jardin des Plantes to the east, which serves as the frontier with the 13th district.

6th arrondissement

Another of Paris’ districts to which Americans and tourists are drawn. 

Read also: These districts of Paris are most popular amongst Americans in France 

It starts in Odéon district and goes west toward the Assemblée nationale. It is most famous for Saint-Germain-des-Prés and its brasseries, mainly the Deux Magots and Brasserie Lipp.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés is also portrayed by French people as the epitome of arrogance from disconnected intellectuals, socialites, artists and politicians.

“That there can be a certain snobbery in Saint-Germain-des-Prés is neither new nor surprising. So what? It is not news to you either!” said Guillaume Musso over our Big Interview, asked about a certain elite which does not consider his books to be literature.

This is one of the most expensive districts of Paris with several streets ranking within France’s top 100 most expensive. An apartment on Rue Furstemberg, in the heart of Saint-Germain, averaged €24,272 per square metre in 2024.

7th arrondissement

Thirty of the 100 streets of Paris’ seventh district are also among France’s most expensive.

It is the district of the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars but also the Quai d’Orsay, the Assemblée nationale and many of France’s places of political and justice powers. Many French politicians attended Sciences Po and l’ENA, two schools nearby.

This is the district of those who are programmed to govern the country. It is, as you would expect, conservative, right-wing, well-educated and mannered. The environment is that of Harvard or Yale families.

Likewise, the few who can afford to rent or buy here are within the wealthiest in France.

8th arrondissement

The extension of the 7th district - but on the rive droite this time. 

It is mostly a touristic and business district with very few residents.

It is the district of the Champs Elysées, the embassies and offices of lawyers and the Paris’ offices of French and international newspapers such as Ouest-France and the New York Times. The Elysée Palace and Matignon are nearby the embassies.

Read also: Experiences: Why I love living in Paris

9th arrondissement

The atmosphere shifts completely from the 8th to the 9th, which is known as the theatre district. 

It is also the bastion of offices from the ‘start-up nation’, as President Emmanuel Macron nicknamed the French tech working environment.

The Printemps shopping gallery and Galeries Lafayette are located here.

10th arrondissement

An unusual district divided from the northwest to the southeast by the Boulevard Magenta. 

To the northeast are two of Paris’ four train stations and two hospitals, one of which (Lariboisière) is known for treating patients with addiction problems. 

The canal Saint-Martin attracts the younger population.

The southwest part of the 10th is like the 11th district.

11th arrondissement

This is probably the district which has gentrified the most. Think of it as Williamsburg in Brooklyn. IPA-beer, organic restaurants, “vibrant wines”. It is hipsterism on steroids.

République, a huge central place, serves as the frontier between the 4th, 10th and 11th district where skaters try new tricks or where demonstrations are held.

12th arrondissement

This can be viewed as a buffer-zone between rive droite and rive gauche. It is the southeast of Paris, still very much a commuter and residential district, and one of the last to have not been extensively gentrified.

But it is coming in as well. Ground Control, a third-space reuniting restaurants and activities for new parents working in tech companies, opened in 2018.

13th arrondissement

Back to the rive gauche.

Ask any Parisian about the 13th district and they will tell you ‘Chinese people’.

There is truth to this. Chinese shops and supermarkets line up rue d’Ivry, near the Quartier Olympiades and its high-rise towers.

But it is also the district of shopping-centres in Place d’Italie, the Instagram-like Buttes-aux-Cailles.

Read also: Paris to have street named after David Bowie (even though UK does not)

It is also Tolbiac, frequented by Sorbonne university students in their first and second years, Station F, the world’s biggest start-up campus, and the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand and its MK2 cinema.

14th arrondissement

A district with Montparnasse, its tower and train station, the Alesia district, the Cité Internationale and the Catacombs. The 14th district is a hodgepodge district that represents the stereotypical French family: married with two children and stable jobs. 

Read also: Paris puts on friendly face to change city stereotypes

15th arrondissement

You will find a little bit of everything here. It is similar to the 14th, only the population is more Catholic-influenced and richer.

It is the most populated district of Paris and the largest in size.

To the north, it starts south of the Champ de Mars and goes to the Péripherique. To the west, it goes from the Seine to the train tracks of Gare Montparnasse. 

You are still in rive gauche.

16th arrondissement

The district that symbolises wealth. Think of the wealthiest areas of New York or London.

It is the westernmost district of Haussmanian buildings, large avenues, Catholic private schools, gated-communities such as the Villa Montmorency and Villa Saïd. 

Read also: Monet museum is named best in France based on visitor reviews

The demographic splits between Jewish nouveau riche and Catholic aristocratic families. The line of demarcation between both populations, aside from the 75116 and 75016 zip/post code, is probably Rue de Passy.

Rich people head here for tranquility. Do not expect to party.

17th arrondissement

One part of the 17th district is the copycat paragraphs of the 15th. Only it is even richer and more Bon chic bon genre, an expression used to refer to stylish members of the Parisian upper class. 

It is the southside of the 17th district, the prolongation to the north of both the high-end and wealthy 16th and 8th district.

Pass the Pont Cardinet or the Boulevard Pereire and it fades a bit, the population being closer to middle-class and the districts meant for working spaces and offices.

Place de Clichy and the Parc Monceau are two places that serve as a gateway to many nearby districts such as the 8th, 9th and 18th.

18th arrondissement

This is inhabited by the wealthiest of the newcomers, early 30s with a six-figure annual income who have narrowed down the district as one of the last accessible places in Paris within their budget. It is very similar to the 11th but more business and less creative-oriented.

Parts closer to the Péripherique and its south are more populaire or working-class. 

These are areas around Porte de la Chapelle, Chateau Rouge or Barbès and Pigalle that are populated by Northern and Subterranean African populations. Restaurants and shops match that demographic.

Add Montmartre, one of Paris’ most tourist attractions.

19th arrondissement

It is the most musical district - with many concert places such as the Zenith, the Trabendo, the Cabaret Sauvage or La Gare, but also the most alternative and communitarian and another location of the Jewish community.

Read also: Emily in Paris park ‘shows the two sides of Paris’

It is also where the Buttes-Chaumont park, La-Vilette, Jaurès, the other Instagram-like rue Mouzaia and Stalingrad district are located.

20th arrondissement

The easternmost district of Paris with the Père Lachaise cemetery occupying a large area of it. 

It starts to the north in Belleville, a district known for its Asian prostitution.

It is similar to the 12th but faster affected by gentrification. Some of the most densely populated areas of Paris are here, such as the quartier Saint-Blaise.