arrondissement: a city jurisdiction similar to a zip code but with more of a neighborhood identity
Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements. Similar in size to zip codes in American cities, they are more like a neighborhood. Each has its own distinctive identity. While in Washington, DC, you might tell new friends that you live in Cathedral Heights or Adams-Morgan, Parisians generally ask in which arrondissement you live.
The 1st arrondissement covers the downtown area around the Louvre and each subsequent arrondissement is numbered in a clockwise spiral out from the 1st.
I lived my first time in Paris on rue Popincourt which is in the 11th arrondissement. Parisians also call this neighborhood La Bastille after the nearby Place de la Bastille, the former site of the French prison whose storming by the people marked the start of the French Revolution. The prison is long gone, but the plaza features an ultra-modern glass opera house, restaurants, and shops.
According to Wikipedia, the 11th is the most densely populated neighborhood in Europe. It has traditionally been a residential and more middle/working class neighborhood that is quickly becoming chic with young Parisians.
Most tourist hotels and rental apartments are in the 1st through 10th arrondissements as well the 18th arrondissement, the Montmartre area.
The Cardinal Directions: The heart of the city is defined by the Periphery Road or Boulevard Périphérique. Apartments, hotels, and housing are much cheaper outside the Périphérique in Paris' vast suburbs. If you think of Paris in terms of a circle with four cardinal directions, the Périphérique defines the circle. North is anchored by the butte of Montmartre with its gleaming white Sacré Coeur Basilica. South is defined by the Montparnasse Tower, an oddly out-of-place skyscraper dominating the southern Parisian skyline. La Défense marks the West. The Défense area actually lies outside the Périphérique, but its La Grande Arche -more a giant square frame than an arch- provides a handy architectural point on the skyline.
On the east there is not a handy architectural feature to mark the area. Père Lachaise Cemetery provides an eastern landmark. Outside the Périphérique to the east is also the large Bois de Vincennes, or Vincennes Woods.
The River and Its Banks: Cutting through the city is the River Seine. Its banks are defined by what bank appears to the left and right if you are floating and facing downriver. Thus, the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, makes up most of the southern part of Paris. Its counterpart, the Rive Droit, or Right Bank, is the larger northern section.
With these key landmarks, you can more easily locate your position in the city.
The Cardinal Directions: The heart of the city is defined by the Periphery Road or Boulevard Périphérique. Apartments, hotels, and housing are much cheaper outside the Périphérique in Paris' vast suburbs. If you think of Paris in terms of a circle with four cardinal directions, the Périphérique defines the circle. North is anchored by the butte of Montmartre with its gleaming white Sacré Coeur Basilica. South is defined by the Montparnasse Tower, an oddly out-of-place skyscraper dominating the southern Parisian skyline. La Défense marks the West. The Défense area actually lies outside the Périphérique, but its La Grande Arche -more a giant square frame than an arch- provides a handy architectural point on the skyline.
On the east there is not a handy architectural feature to mark the area. Père Lachaise Cemetery provides an eastern landmark. Outside the Périphérique to the east is also the large Bois de Vincennes, or Vincennes Woods.
The River and Its Banks: Cutting through the city is the River Seine. Its banks are defined by what bank appears to the left and right if you are floating and facing downriver. Thus, the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, makes up most of the southern part of Paris. Its counterpart, the Rive Droit, or Right Bank, is the larger northern section.
With these key landmarks, you can more easily locate your position in the city.
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