Paris Arrondissements

Guide to all the arrondissements, or administrative districts of Paris.

There are twenty Paris arrondissements – administrative districts – arranged in a spiral radiating from the city centre.

1st arondissement: Louvre

The central right bank of the River Seine, including the west end of the Île de la Cité. Paris i boasts the famous Louvre Museum and Tuileries Gardens.

2nd arondissement: Bours

The Right Bank Paris 2 business district is home to the Opera House and the city’s traditional glass-roofed shopping arcades. Paris ii used to contain the Bourse, Paris’s stock exchange.

3rd arrondissement: Temple

Paris 3 is a small district on the Right Bank that includes the northern – and quieter - part of the atmospheric medieval Le Marais area and a budding Chinatown.

4th arrondissement: Hôtel-de-Ville

A buzzing area on the Right Bank with the Pompidou Centre, Place des Vosges and small streets, cafes and shops. Paris 4 is home to the trendy southern part Le Marais, including the gay district.

5th arrondissement: Panthéon

The central Left Bank area known as the Latin Quarter. Paris 5 was the ancient heart of Paris and is now home to the Sorbonne and a feast of bookshops, cafes, culture and Roman monuments.

6th arrondissement: Luxembourg

A central Left Bank district containing the upmarket St Germain des Pres shopping area and famous Abbey. Paris 6 also contains the smart Jardin du Luxembourg.

7th arrondissement: Palais-Bourbon

Home to the major Left Bank tourist attractions of the Eiffel Tower and the Hôtel des Invalides, Napoléon's resting place. Paris 7 also contains government ministries and the French National Assembly.

8th arrondissement: Élysée

This Right Bank district is home to some of its most iconic sights – the Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde and the Élysée Palace. Paris 8 is also the heart of the city’s business activities.

9th arrondissement: Opéra

A Right Bank centre for shopping, business and sights, focused around the Paris Opera. Paris 9 is home to Boulevard Haussmann with its famous department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.

10th arrondissement: Enclos-St-Laurent

The central north-eastern district of Paris 10 contains two of its busiest railway termini, the Gare du Nord and Gare de L’Est. The Canal St Martin, with its attractive bridges, links Paris x to the River Seine.

11th arrondissement: Popincourt

A western Right Bank district containing Place de la République and Place de la Bastille. Paris 11th thrives with art, culture, cafes, nightlife and intriguing shops, all less expensive than in Le Marais.   

12th arrondissement: Reuilly

Located beside the Seine in the western Right Bank area, Paris 12 contains the Opéra de la Bastille and the Bercy arena, venue for important sporting and music events.

13th arrondissement: Gobelins

On the western Left Bank, Paris 13 is best known for ‘Little Asia’ - the main Chinatown of Paris. Also home to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Gare d’Austerlitz.

14th arrondissement: Observatoire

Located in the southern Left Bank, Paris 14 contains most of the Montparnasse area and is home to the fascinating Paris Catacombs museum.

15th arrondissement: Vaugirard

Paris 15 is on the eastern Left Bank and contains the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre. The Tour Montparnasse and Gare Montparnasse are on the border with Paris 14.

16th arrondissement: Passy

On the eastern Right Bank, Paris 16 is home to Roland Garros Stadium and other important sporting venues. The Bois de Boulogne is here and Avenue Foch, Paris’s widest street.

17th arrondissement: Batignolles-Monceau

A varied area in the north east, Paris 17 contains an extension of neighbouring Pigalle, the affluent Marche Poncelet and the Palais des Congrès exhibition centre with the huge Concorde Lafayette hotel.

18th arrondissement: Butte-Montmartre

Located in the north of the city, Paris 18 is most famous for the traditional artists’ area of Montmartre, with its steep cobbled streets, Sacré Coeur basilica and Moulin Rouge nightclub.

19th arrondissement: Buttes-Chaumont

Paris 19 is in the north west of  the city and is home to the Parc de la Villette, which contains the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, a museum and exhibition centre, and the Conservatoire de Paris music school.   

20th arrondissement: Ménilmontant

In the west of the city, Paris 20 is best known for its atmospheric Père Lachaise Cemetery where renowned composers, writers and artists are buried.