What different parts of Paris are like to live in — character, transport, green spaces, housing and honest trade-offs.
Paris is described here by its districts and the localities inside them. This page currently covers 20 districts and 0 localities.
There is no “best neighbourhood”: what suits you depends on your work, budget, family and lifestyle. We describe places — we do not score them.
Larger pins are districts, smaller ones localities. Every place is also listed below.
Map of neighbourhoods in Paris
District
Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est and the Canal Saint-Martin: a dense, diverse and well-connected district with busy station areas, lively streets such as rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis, and a young population.
District
The most densely populated arrondissement: Oberkampf, Bastille, rue de Charonne and the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Young, lively and full of small businesses, with many small flats, good métro coverage and a busy nightlife.
District
From Bastille and Gare de Lyon to the Bois de Vincennes: Bercy, the Coulée verte, the Aligre market and residential Daumesnil and Picpus. Large green spaces, a major rail hub and a substantial share of social housing.
District
A large south-eastern district of contrasts: the BnF and the new Paris Rive Gauche quarter, the high-rise Olympiades, the Asian quarter around avenue de Choisy, the village-like Butte-aux-Cailles and big hospitals. One-third of homes are social housing.
Montparnasse, Denfert-Rochereau and the Catacombs, Parc Montsouris and the Cité internationale universitaire: a residential Left Bank district with market streets such as rue Daguerre, good north–south links and a mix of old and post-war housing.
District
The most populous arrondissement: a large, mainly residential Left Bank district from Montparnasse to the Seine, with Parc André-Citroën, Parc Georges-Brassens, the Paris Expo exhibition centre, major hospitals and many family-sized homes.
District
A large, affluent western district including the Bois de Boulogne: Trocadéro, Passy and Auteuil, Roland-Garros and the Parc des Princes. Mostly residential with large flats, many owner-occupiers, an older population and quiet evenings.
A large north-western district of contrasts: Haussmannian Plaine Monceau and Ternes, the village-like Batignolles, the new Clichy-Batignolles eco-district with the Paris courthouse and Parc Martin-Luther-King, and the quieter Épinettes. Many families.
Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur, Abbesses, the Goutte-d'Or and La Chapelle: a dense, diverse and young northern district with hilltop village streets, busy markets and boulevards, major redevelopment in the north-east and mostly small flats.
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, the Parc de la Villette with the Philharmonie and the Cité des sciences, and the canals of the north-east. A young, family-oriented and diverse district where a third of homes are social housing.
District
The historic heart of Paris on the Right Bank: the Louvre, the Tuileries and Palais-Royal gardens, Les Halles and the western tip of the Île de la Cité. It has outstanding transport links, the fewest residents of any arrondissement and a high share of second homes.
Belleville, Ménilmontant, Charonne and the Père-Lachaise cemetery: a hilly, diverse and densely populated eastern district with village corners, a large share of social housing, very few second homes and a lively bar scene in its western streets.
District
The smallest arrondissement by area, between the Grands Boulevards and Les Halles: the historic Richelieu library, 19th-century covered passages, the Sentier and the market street rue Montorgueil. Dense, central and young, with very little green space.
District
The northern part of the Marais: 17th-century mansions turned into museums, the Musée Carnavalet and Musée Picasso, the Enfants-Rouges covered market and small squares. Central and very dense, with mostly small flats in old buildings and the Paris Centre town hall.
The city hall, Notre-Dame, the Île Saint-Louis, the southern Marais and the Place des Vosges. Historic, central and busy with visitors, with a lively bar scene in the Marais and a mostly older, small-flat housing stock.
District
The Latin Quarter on the Left Bank: the Sorbonne and other universities, the Panthéon, the Jardin des Plantes and rue Mouffetard. It has the largest share of 15–24-year-olds in Paris, good RER links and many small flats.
District
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Odéon and the Jardin du Luxembourg: a historic Left Bank district of publishers, bookshops, galleries and cafés, with an older population, larger flats and one of the lowest shares of social housing in Paris.
The Eiffel Tower, the Invalides, the Musée d'Orsay and the National Assembly: a stately Left Bank district of ministries, embassies and museums with large flats, very little social housing and quiet evenings.
District
The Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Élysée Palace, Parc Monceau and Gare Saint-Lazare: a prestigious Right Bank district dominated by offices, hotels and shops, with large flats, many second homes and excellent métro links.
District
From the Palais Garnier and the department stores of boulevard Haussmann up to the foot of Montmartre: a dense, lively district of 19th-century buildings, theatres, rue des Martyrs and the Nouvelle Athènes, popular with young adults.