Abi Summers

Paris arrondissements

When you hear people talking about arrondissements, they’re referring to one of the 20 areas in Paris.

Every arrondissements has lots of things to offer, it just depends on what you’re looking for. Are you looking to walk everyone, or are you wanting to take public transport? Are you wanting to visit the main tourist attractions or experience the lesser known parts of the city? Do you want a quieter pace, or are you wanting to go out partying?

I’m going to be honest, even after 8 years of living here, I still don’t always know what landmarks are in what arrondissement. I know the areas of where I’ve lived, and where I’ve worked but outside of that I forget where the boundaries are. I prefer to navigate using public transport, so if you say a metro station I’ll know where you’re talking about!

The layout

The arrondissements are laid out in a clockwise spiral starting in the middle of the city. A lot of people compare this to a snail shell.

Paris with the arrondissements labelled with a number

Often the edge between arrondissements is a big boulevard or the Seine. If you’re talking about an area above the Seine then you’re talking about Rive Droite or right bank, and if you’re taking about an area that is south of the Seine then you’re talking about Rive Gauche or left bank.

What arrondissement am I in?

Some arrondissements feel different to others, but that’s not enough to know for sure which area you’re in. However, almost all street names will tell you!

On the photo below, you can see the old street name, when it was carved into the stone, and just below that you can see the classic blue Paris street signs. This street is in the 5eme arr, so here’s we’re in the 5th arrondissement.

a street sign in Paris for the street 'rue des fosses saint jacques'. In the middle there is the only street sign that is carved into stone, and at the bottom there is the modern day sign - a blue rectangle with a green border with white text. At the top, attached to the rectangle there is a semi circle which says which arrondissement you are in. You can also see a space invader at the top, and the the restaurant name Au Port du Salut

Another way to know what arrondissement you’re in, is to look at the address. In Paris, all postcodes start with 75 (the number of the département) and the last two digits come from the arrondissement. So for example the first arrondissements is 75001, and the 12th arrondissements is 75012.

What is the difference between an arrondissement and a neighbourhood?

Each arrondissement has it’s name, which is not to be confused with the neighbourhood name. At first glance, you might think they are the same but they are actually different. For example, most people coming to Paris will want to visit Le Marais (it’s a great area!), which is the name of the neighbourhood and not the arrondissement (which includes part of the 3rd and 4th arrondissement).

Here’s a list of the arrondissements (with how they’re written in French) and their names. In my experience, you’ll almost always hear of people referring to the arrondissement by number and not by name so you’ll hear something like j’habite dans le 9ème (I live in the 9th).

arrondissementname
1st (Ier)Louvre
2nd (IIe)Bourse
3rd (IIIe)Temple
4th (IVe)Hôtel-de-Ville
5th (Ve)Panthéon
6th (VIe)Luxembourg
7th (VIIe)Palais-Bourbon
8th (VIIIe)Élysée
9th (IXe)Opéra
10th (Xe)Popincourt
11th (XIe)Entrepôt
12th (XIIe)Reuilly
13th (XIIIe)Gobelins
14th (XIVe)Observatoire
15th (XVe)Vaugirard
16th (XVIe)Passy
17th (XVIIe)Batignolles-Monceau
18th (XVIIIe)Butte-Montmartre
19th (XIXe)Buttes-Chaumont
20th (XXe)Ménilmontant

You’ll definitely know where some of the arrondissements get their names from like the Louvre and Opera, but some are less obvious (and are rarely said).

Some of the neighbourhood you might have heard of are Montmartre, Latin Quarter and Saint Germain de Prés (all filled with lots of charm).

Private tour

If you are coming to Paris and would like to explore the best part of your neighbourhood (or another part of Paris) you can book a private tour that is personalised for you. Just let me know what you want to see and I’ll do the rest.

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Share your experience

I love getting to know what people think about Paris, so please get in touch if you’d like to share your experience! I’d love to know what you think about where you chose to stay, and your favourite things in the neighbourhood. You can reach me via Instagram at @abiguides