Neighborhoods

The Marais

The Marais, the area directly north of ÎIe Saint Louis, was in fact a swamp until the 13th century when it was converted to agricultural use. The Place des Vosges (Vosges' square) lies in the heart of the fashionable Marais district, not far from the new Bastille opera. King Henri IV decided its construction at the beginning of the 17th century. The Place des Vosges has a brick and stone architecture unique in Paris. It also features a peaceful and refreshing garden. It is a good starting point for a visit to the Marais district or shopping in the rue des Françs-Bourgeois near-by. It also features an homogeneous square design and lovely arcades. Many illustrious frenchmen lived there including Victor Hugo, the writer of the hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Today, the Marais is one of the few neighborhoods of Paris that still has almost all of its pre-Revolutionary architecture extant; indeed the house at 3 Rue Volta, 3e, built in 1292, is thought to be the oldest in the city. In recent years the area has become trendy. On Friday and Saturday nights, the Marais is crowded with people out dining, bar- hopping or just carousing.

Bastille

The Colonne de Juillet dominates la Place de la Bastille. It marks the site of the prison known as the Bastille which was stormed by the Mob in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution. In the subway station beneath the square, stones from the Bastille's foundation can still be seen. On its south, side, Place de la Bastille abuts the Port de Plaisance de Paris Arsenal, the city's main port for pleasure boats. There's a children's playground just north of the footbridge over the port. This square is also home to the Opéra Bastille completed in 1990.

Île Saint Louis

In the heart of Paris and near the Cité island, the small Ile Saint-Louis (Saint- Louis island) is one of the loveliest districts of Paris: nice and romantic river banks, 18th century houses, village like life. On warm summer days, lovers mingle with cello-playing buskers and teenage skateboarders. Occasionally, tourist boats with super bright flood lamps cruise by. The island's 17th-century, grey-stone houses and the small-town shops that line the streets and quays impart a village-like, provincial calm. The whole island almost retains its 18th century outlook. Recently, the Ile Saint-Louis has become very fashionable and expensive. Former French president Georges Pompidou lived there. Look for Bertillon, the best French ice-cream maker, at 31, rue Saint-Louis en l'Ile. This always crowded shop is a nice stop a few hundreds meters away from Notre-Dame.

Latin Quarter

Every street in the Latin Quarter has something unique to offer. Among the liveliest is Rue Mouffetard, one of the oldest streets in Paris. The intense urbanity of the area is softened by the green expanses and pools of the Jardin du Luxembourg. Bustling Blvd Saint Germain stretches over 3krn from the Île Saint Louis westward past Saint Gennain des Prés all the way to the Assemblée Nationale. Right across the Seine from Notre Dame, along Rue Frédéric Sauton, there's a cluster of small galleries with art objects from around the world. The area east of the Latin Quarter is covered in the section entitled Jardin des Plantes Area.

Montmartre

The real attractions of Montmartre, apart from the great views, are the area's little parks and steep, winding, cobble stoned streets, many of whose houses seem about to be engulfed by creeping vines and ivy. On the corner of Rue Saint Vincent and Rue des Saules, there's even a small vineyard dating from 1933 called Le Close du Montmartre whose annual production in October - some 850 bottles of wine - is auctioned off for charity in the 18e. Lovely streets to explore here include Rue de I' Abreuvoir, Rue Saint Vincent, Place Constantin Pecqueur and Place Émile Goudeau, where Kees Van Dongen, Max Jacob, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso (among others) once lived in great poverty in an old piano factory and workshop at No 11b, dubbed by Jacob the Bateau Lavoir (Laundry Boat). It was rebuilt in 1978 after burning down eight years before and now houses some two dozen artists (closed to the public). There's a children's playground and carousel (10FF) at the base of the stairs up to Sacré Cæur. Place Pigalle and Blvd de Clichy, the lively heart of Pigalle, are 200m south of Place des Abbesses, with its particularly photogenic metro entrance and sign.

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