Paris, district by district

Visiting Paris ? Then start planning your trip. Every district is different! We’ll tell you THE spot to visit in each of the districts of Paris.

• The 1^st district: history

• The 2^nd district: all about cinema

• The 3^rd district: generation Y

• The 4^th district: waterworld

• The 5^th district: the eclectic one

• The 6^th district: the one with the Luxembourg gardens

• The 7^th district: the Napoleonic one

• The 8^th district: the Champs-Elysées (all together now!)

• The 9^th district: all about Opera

• The 10^th district: on the water

• The 11^th district: the gentrified one

• The 12^th district: green and pleasant

• The 13^th district: south Asian charm

• The 14^th district: the panoramic one

• The 15^th district: a hotchpotch

• The 16^th district: the upscale neighbourhood

• The 17^th district: the family-friendly one

• The 18^th district: the real deal

• The 19^th district: all about science

• The 20^th district: the eternal one

Let’s start with the heart of Paris: right in the middle of this multifaceted city, I recommend a stroll on Île de la Cité via the Pont-Neuf bridge followed by a saunter in the Jardin des Tuileries public garden. Art aficionados and the curious, take note. The not-to-be-missed Louvre (home of the famous Mona Lisa) is in the 1^st district!

My favourite exhibit: Monet’s Waterlillies at the Orangerie gallery.

In the Grands Boulevards neighbourhood, Le Grand Rex is a familiar landmark.  This magnificent cinema, which looks more like a theatre or opera house than a movie theatre, puts on regular premières and film franchise ‘marathons’.

My favourite thing: a stroll around the Sentier neighbourhood and the street of the same name, which makes me feel like I’ve landed right in the film trilogy ‘Would I Lie to You ?’

An old theatre dating back to the 19^th century, since renovated, which now hosts digital art exhibitions and contemporary music concerts: does it sound surprising? The Gaîté Lyrique is just that, and it’s great! There’s also the Musée National Picasso (national Picasso museum) and the Musée des Arts et Métiers (industrial design museum) right next to it, and they are well worth a visit.

My favourite thing: the diversity to be found in Le Marais which spans the 3^rd and 4^th districts with the Jewish quarter, the gay quarter, the Chinese quarter, the watchmakers’ quarter and more.

A wonderful neighbourhood to explore. Back to Île de la Cité to see THE cathedral: Notre-Dame! There’s still part of the Marais left to visit, and also the Centre Pompidou and Place des Vosges.

My favourite thing: le Mur des noms (wall of names), a very moving spot on the esplanade of the Shoah memorial in the Marais.

Just opposite, on the left bank, stands the famous university of La Sorbonne and theInstitut du Monde Arabe (Arab world institute), with its fascinating exhibitions on Arab culture and civilisation. In this same district lies the Grande Mosquée (great mosque) of Paris!

My favourite thing: the Panthéon where major public figures are laid to rest: Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Jean Moulin, Pierre & Marie Curie and others.

The most significant spot in the 6^th district is, of course, the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg gardens). It is a really pleasant place for strolling around and daydreaming, where you can also read or sit chatting on deckchairs in the summer. In terms of buildings, there are some imposing ones: the Sénat (Senate) within the Palais du Luxembourg, the Institut de France (French institute) with its magnificent dome and the Pont des Arts bridge.

My favourite thing: having a nice hot chocolate at Café de Flore, to immerse myself in the atmosphere of this favourite haunt of Paris’ great writers. You almost have the feeling that Apollinaire or Sartre might walk into the café at any moment!

The Hôtel des invalides military necropolis is impressively majestic. It’s a fine setting to house the grave site of Napoléon 1^st. In terms of museums, the Musée Rodin (Rodin museum) is especially beautiful, with a garden that is very pleasant to walk around. Obviously, you can’t talk about Paris, let alone the 7^th district, without talking about the Eiffel Tower! So go and take that selfie with France’s Iron Lady.

My favourite thing: the Musée d’Orsay museum, one of my favourite museums in Paris, with a collection of impressionist paintings that I marvel at every time I go there..

The 8^th district is all about the Champs-Elysées, this emblematic Parisian avenue where the Arc de Triomphestands. For those still wanting to feast their eyes: the Petit Palais (small palace) and Grand Palais (big palace), which were built for the 1900 World's Fair in an Art Nouveau style. Both host exhibitions, and the Petit Palais is also home to the musée des Beaux-Arts (fine arts museum) of Pari

My favourite thing: Maxim’s, the ultra-famous Parisian restaurant in the Belle Epoque style, which is also home to an Art Nouveau museum!

A shopping trip in Paris is not complete without a visit to the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann! But if shopping is not your thing, head to the Musée Grévin waxwork museum for a selfie with your favourite stars and VIPs.

My favourite thing: the enchanting décor of theOpéra Garnier opera house.

A good way to spend time with friends here in the 10^th, is to start with a visit to the Manoir de Paris haunted house, a particularly frightening one, before getting back to the land of the living with a sunny picnic somewhere along the Canal Saint-Martin canal. If you fancy a game of boules while you’re there, you can play on the canal-side!

My favourite thing: the narrowest house in Paris, at just 1.10 m wide and (and 5 m high), at 39 rue du Château d’Eau. It’s not open to the public, but still quite a sight.

The best places to have a drink with friends in Paris are definitely to be found in the Oberkampf and Bastille neighbourhoods. La Marquise, Plein Soleil, Charbon, the Zéro zéro bar, Mama Pizza, Al Taglio and others. You’re spoiled for choice! In terms of culture, I recommend the musée Edith Piaf (Edith Piaf museum) in the apartment where the singer known as ‘la Môme’ lived in the early days of her career.

My favourite thing: Balajo, a bar with a dancefloor that still has an atmosphere straight out of the 30s.

To get some fresh air in the 12^th, you have two options: either the coulée verte René-Dumont path, which follows the route of a former railway line taking you past some charming places like the viaduc des Arts , or the Bois de Vincennes, the largest expanse of parkland in Paris. A stroll in the woods, through the parc zoologique (animal park), in the jardin tropical (tropical garden), in the parc floral (flower garden) or to the velodrome, fort or castle. You can’t see it all in one afternoon!

My favourite thing: the Le Train Bleu restaurant within the gare de Lyon train station, with its superb paintings which make you dream of travelling.

You’ll find the ‘Chinatown’ of Paris in the 13^th district. For the best Asian restaurants, it’s the place to be! At the same time, for good exhibitions with a difference check out the Docks – The Cité de la mode et du Design (fashion and design institute) where you’ll find the Musée des Arts Ludiques (museum of fun arts). Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Miyazaki, video games and more. The subjects are contemporary ones. If you prefer historical or emblematic places, head to the Manufacture des Gobelins or the BNF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France - French national library).

My favourite thing: the piscine Joséphine Baker swimming pool, because a pool set into a boat on the Seine is something pretty different!

From the top of the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper the panoramic view of the whole of Paris, in particular the Eiffel Tower, is stunning. Since it’s the tallest skyscraper in Paris itself, the Observatoire Panoramique (panoramic observatory) is the best place for a souvenir photo.

My favourite thing: touring the catacombs, whose atmosphere is strange yet fascinating.

The 15^th district: a hotchpotch

The Foire de Paris (Paris Fair), Paris Games Week, the Paris Manga fair, the Salon du Chocolat (chocolate fair), the Salon international de l’agriculture (farming fair) and more. All of these events have something in common, but what? Their venue: the Parc des Expositions exhibition centre at Porte de Versailles! Just a stone’s throw away you'll also find theAquaboulevard water park where you can swim or ride flumes with family or friends.

My favourite thing: the glasshouses of the Parc André-Citroën park for a break among the greenery. You can even go up in a tethered hot air balloon which ascends to a height of 150 m, for an unobstructed view of the City of Light.

A pleasant stroll in the Jardin d’acclimatation garden before visiting the Fondation Louis Vuitton museum is a good plan. Especially since the museum comprises 11 galleries, and puts on lots of temporary exhibitions. But be warned that the appeal of the place draws long queues of visitors. Consider buying a fast-track ticket to bypass the queue.

My favourite thing: the pont de Bir-Hakeim bridge and its distinctive architecture which has featured in lots of movies.

The 17^th district scores highly in terms of greenery with its many parks. There’s the Jardin des Batignolles garden with a bucolic little waterfall, the Parc Monceau park and its antique-style columns, the Parc Martin Luther King park and its fountains for families to play in the water among others

My favourite thing:  place Felix Bourgeois square with its little church and terraces. I recommend the huge Sunday brunch at Fuxia. It’s delicious!

The must-see monument in Paris: the Montmartre Basilica with its superb view looking down the hill. On the church steps you can catch some rays of sunshine whilst watching and listening to the street artists who perform there. For some peace and quiet you can climb to the very top of the Basilica for an unbeatable view of the whole of Paris.

My favourite thing: the highlander burger at the Koff restaurant, which you simply have to try.

For visitors of all ages the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie (science and industry institute) is a great place to go. Its permanent and temporary exhibitions make science accessible by focussing on a variety of issues. I could spend several days there without it getting any less fascinating! The Géode, a cinema inside a giant sphere in the park of La Villette, shows wraparound movies. Spectacular!

My favourite thing: the canal de l’Ourcq canal for a picnic with friends or a romantic walk.

As a major landmark of the 20^th district and of Paris as a whole, the Père Lachaise cemetery draws a large number of visitors. And for good reason: Frédérique Chopin, Edith Piaf, Molière, Alfred de Musset, Marcel Proust and Sarah Bernhardt, among others, are laid to rest there.

My favourite thing : one of the cemetery’s most visited grave sites, that of Jim Morrison, lead singer of rock band The Doors.