Arrondissements (sections of Paris), Paris

Favorite thing: History is in every arrondissement in Paris, but only on metro line 8 can you travel between the French Revolution and Napoleon's tomb in one easy swoop!
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You will find the monument in Place Bastille at the Bastille station and Invalides at La Tour Maubourg station.

Favorite thing: Montmartre is a very attractive hill. You can climb the hill to visit the beautiful Sacre Coeur Basilica or just stroll along the cobbled narrow alleys and enjoy the rural atmosphere. At the former village square Place du Tertre you will find a lot of artists.

Fondest memory: Walking up the stairs to the Sacre Coeur and looking over Paris from the square in front of the Basilica.

Favorite thing: In this part of Paris, you will find two major attractions. There is the Eiffel Tower with the Parc du Champs de Mars and the Military school on one hand, and the imposing hotel des Invalides on the other hand. Two things not to be missed.

Walking around in this area, you will notice many luxurious buildings, such as embassies in art nouveau style and aristocratic mansions.

Favorite thing: For a country that serves up all that egalitarian stuff about Liberty Fraternity and Equality stemming from the 1789 revolution, it would be difficult to find a more innately snobbish city.

The "I live in a better arrondisment than you" is all very well, but all those who live beyond the peripherique (Paris' ring road) are considered by those 'in the loop' as barbarians who have recently fallen out of the trees. They drag their knuckles along the ground to the outer reaches of the Metro, complete their menial jobs in the city only to return home, hunt wild animals and make fires with two bits of flint.

Such prejudice is not uncommon in big cities, indeed in London anything North of Watford is a londoner's hazy idea of the rest of England - but would they really look down on someone who lived just the wrong side of the North Circular. The idea may seem more normal to a New Yorker - Manhattan is not just the centre of town, it is NY.

Fondest memory: Using this prejudice to your own advantage. Find a hotel just beyond the peripherique and the prices drop right down, as to neighbourhood restaurants and shop prices. The only downside ? a few more stops in the morning on the Metro.

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Favorite thing: Carol and I are, of course, huge fans of architectural exploration. That is to say, we love seeking out and discovering (as if we were the first) hidden architectural gems. We also love exploring neighborhoods that don't always make the first cut in the travel guides. In a city like Paris these exploratory pursuits are available in abundance but, perhaps, no more so than in the 16th Arrondissement.

Like many of the best things about travel, I discovered this fascinating area by accident. In an attempt to locate the Paris Metro stations designed by Hector Guimard, I came across a wonderful website called Paris Kiosque which laid out a fascinating self-guided walking tour through the 16th Arrondissement. It was a guide through some of the the most beautiful Art Nouveau and Art Deco streets I had ever seen. While I have to live with the disappointment of not being the first to discover the 16th Arrondissement, the three hours we spent in this area became the highlight of my Paris visit.

Our introduction to the 16th Arrondissement begins as we walk across the Pont de Grenelle. From the center of the bridge, to the right, is a terrific view the Eiffel Tower seeming, form this vantage, to be straddling the Seine. To the left, on Grenelle Island, is Frederic Bartholdi's 35' bronze model for the Statue of Liberty.

From this point we were directed through an obviously upscale and largely tourist free warren of streets that were alive with architectural milestones. I will detail several of these in other tips but have decided to summarize our walking tour with the following photo highlights:

Fondest memory: Intro Photo: The view south from Pont de Grenelle toward the 16th Arrondissement with Statue de la Liberté in the foreground. There seems to be some conflicting accounts as to whether the statue is Bartholdi's model or a bronze replica given to the French people by Americans living in Paris in 1889.

Photo 2: Our first "discovery" was Hector Guimard's stunnung Castel Béranger located at 14 la Fountaine. This is Art Nouveau at is finest. Guimard has designed every inch of this building with his groundbreaking vision. See more at my Guimard General Tip.

Photo 3: As we followed our tour we came to Rue George Sand which, much as any, seemed to capture the ambience of the neighborhood. While none of the works of the giants of architecture are seen here, what Hollywood director could resist these streets to reflect his Parisian epic.

Photo 4: There is not a first year architecture student who does not know the name Le Corbusier. Here at 51 rue du Docteur Blanche in a he building originally designed for Raoul La Roche and Albert Jeanneret and is now Le Corbusier's foundation. Carol studied his architecture but as an interior designer, I have always been enamored by his famous chaise lounge which sits in the front window.

Photo 5: In the May 2005 issue of Architectural Digest I found an article by Stephen Calloway called "Rue Moderne in Paris" which described a still standing in neighborhood designed in 1926 by an architect unknown to me...Robert Mallet-Stevens. I clipped it, filed it but, never forgot it. As we followed our route...there it was in all its stylist splendor.

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Favorite thing: If you are used to spread-out American cities, Paris is compact. Most tourist sights are in a central area. There are many hotels and restaurants within the center and they come in all price ranges. If you want to avoid spending your sightseeing day on the Metro, find a hotel in the center of town. This would be arrondissement (district) numbers 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

How do you figure out where that hotel is when you start looking?

A hotel in Arrondissement (district) number 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 would be the most central. Look at the hotel street address. The postal code is the secret to its location. The arrondissement or district numbers are the last 2 digits of the postal code. For example, arrondissement 1 would be 75001, arrondissement 2 would be 75002; arrondissement 4 would be 75004. You get the idea.

You will also see reference to the Latin Quarter, St. Germain and the Marais. The Latin Quarter is mostly 75005 (or the 5th arrondissement); St. Germain is mostly 75006 (or arrondissement 6); the Marais is generally within 75004 (or arrondissement 4). 75007 is the Eiffel Tower area. These names are not as specific as the arrondissement numbers but give you a general idea. Just check your postal code and you'll be fine. (01, 04, 05, 06 and 07)

BTW, you do not need to stay within this central zone because the public transportation system (Metro) is wonderful. We stay there so we don't have to spend precious sightseeing time on the subway or bus. You will do a lot of walking because the city is so beautiful so be sure to take comfy shoes.

Have a great trip.

Fondest memory: I think our first sight of Notre Dame on our very first trip was the most memorable. Suddenly it was all so real to us.

Second memory is of a summer downpour in the Tuileries Gardens. Everyone ran for cover but us. We went to a garden cafe, got a tart and coffee and had a lovely romantic snack in our very own Paris Tuileries.

Other fond memories involve introducing our daughters to Paris, singly and in pair. That was fun.

What do I miss most? Wow, that's difficult. I think being surrounded by so much beauty constantly. There is just so much to see, hear and do in such a compact area. The art, architecture, music, gardens, river, canal, parks . . . there is just so much to enjoy and it's right at your doorstep.

I must admit I miss Parisians too. They have always been informative and helpful to us and we always look forward to returning soon.

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Favorite thing: The city of Paris is divided into twenty administrative districts - arrondissements ( R indicates Right Bank, L - Left Bank of the Seine):
1st R Louvre
2nd R Bourse
3rd R Temple
4th R Hôtel-de-Ville
5th L Panthéon
6th L Luxembourg
7th L Palais-Bourbon
8th R Elysee
9th R Opéra
10th R Enclos-St-Laurent
11th R Popincourt
12th R Reuilly
13th L Gobelins
14th L Observatoire
15th L Vaugirard
16th R Passy
17th R Batignolles-Monceau
18th R Butte-Montmartre
19th R Buttes-Chaumont
20th R Menilmontant

Fondest memory: They are arranged in the form of a clockwise spiral, starting in the middle of the city, with the first on the Right Bank of the Seine.

Favorite thing: The city of Paris may look enormous and chaotic, but there really is a lot of structure to be found. The easiest way to find your position always is to look for the Eiffel Tower, but it can also be useful to pay attention to the so called “arrondissements”. These arrondissements (litterly: go-aroundings) have number from 1-20, that are visible on every nameplate of the streets in Paris.

The structure starts at the Louvre with the 1st arrondissement. From there the number go round and round like a snail, ending with the 20th arrondissement in the neighbourhood of Père Lachaise. The arrondissements only divide the area inside the major ringway around Paris, the Periferique. Every arrondissement also is divided in four quarters. So Paris has 80 quarters in total inside its Periferique.