# What Paris Neighborhoods Are Called, and How Arrondissements Really Work

# What Paris Neighborhoods Are Called, and How Arrondissements Really Work

The spiral of twenty districts, the names people actually use, and how to read an address without getting lost in the labels

By Finzi

Paris neighborhoods are called different things depending on who is talking. Officially, the city is divided into twenty arrondissements, numbered in a spiral from the center. In daily speech, people also use older neighborhood names, such as Le Marais, Montmartre, or Saint-Germain, which do not always match a single official number. Visitors get confused when a hotel is “in the 3rd” and also “in the Marais,” or when a map says 18th and a friend says Montmartre, and those two are not exactly the same area. This guide explains the system, the common names, and how to use both when you book a room or plan a walk.

You do not need to memorize all twenty districts. You need to know how the numbering works, how postal codes are built, and when a popular name is more useful than a number.

# What Paris neighborhoods are called on official maps

The arrondissement is the official unit. The 1st is in the center, on the Right Bank, around the Louvre and the Palais-Royal. The numbers then spiral clockwise and outward: 2nd, 3rd, and 4th still central, 5th and 6th on the Left Bank, 7th around the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides, and so on, out to the 20th in the east. If you picture a snail shell, you have the idea.

Postal codes follow the number. 75001 is the 1st arrondissement. 75014 is the 14th. 75018 is the 18th. This is the simplest check when you read a hotel address. The last two digits of a 750xx code are the district number, inside the city proper.

Each arrondissement has a local town hall, the Mairie, and its own character is not uniform. The 18th contains both the tourist hill of Montmartre and much more ordinary residential streets to the north and east. The 11th has lively streets around Oberkampf and quieter blocks a few minutes away. A number is a location, not a full personality.

The city is also described as the Right Bank and the Left Bank, north and south of the Seine. The islands, Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis, sit in the river and are part of the 1st and 4th. “Rive Droite” and “Rive Gauche” are useful, informal, and not official districts.

# The names people actually use

This is where visitors get lost, because Paris neighborhoods are called by historic or popular names in conversation, in restaurant guides, and in hotel listings.

A few common examples:

• Le Marais covers parts of the 3rd and the 4th, not one official line.
• Saint-Germain-des-Prés sits in the 6th, but people often stretch the name.
• The Latin Quarter is mostly the 5th, with overlap into the 6th.
• Montmartre is a hill and a historic neighborhood inside the 18th, not the entire 18th.
• The 7th is often used as a name in itself, because the tower and several museums sit there.
• Canal Saint-Martin is a place and a scene in the 10th, not a separate official district.
• Belleville and Ménilmontant sit across parts of the 19th, 20th, and 11th.
• Opéra, République, and Bastille are often used as meeting points, because those squares and stations are easier to name than a long street address.

None of these informal names are wrong. They are just not the same kind of unit as an arrondissement. When you book, read the postal code and the nearest metro, not only the pretty name.

# How to use this when you choose a place to stay

Start with how you want to spend your days. If you want to walk to many of the major sites, a central number helps: 1st through 7th, plus parts of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th, are the usual first-time band. If you want restaurants and a slightly more local evening, parts of the 9th, 10th, and 11th are often a good trade, still on a metro that reaches the center quickly.

Then check the name used in the listing. “Montmartre” can mean a charming street near Sacré-Cœur, or a less convenient block a long walk down the wrong side of the hill. “Near the Eiffel Tower” can mean a quiet 7th-arrondissement street, or a building that is close in a straight line and far on foot because of the river and the roads. Look at a map, the metro line, and the postal code.

If a listing only uses a romantic name and hides the 750xx code, treat that as a reason to look harder, not as a reason to refuse. Many honest hotels use both.

# How to use this when you plan a day

Plan days by walking clusters, not by collecting numbers. A day in the 5th and 6th is a coherent Left Bank day. A day that tries to do the 18th, the 7th, and the 4th before lunch is a transit day. The numbers help you see the distance. The informal names help you see the atmosphere.

When you meet someone, a station name is often clearer than an arrondissement. “Let’s meet at Saint-Paul” is easier than “let’s meet in the 4th,” which is a large area. “Let’s meet in the Marais” is also large. Tighten it to a station, a square, or a café.

If you get lost in conversation, ask for the postal code or the metro. You will get a better answer than if you argue about whether a street “counts” as the Marais.

# Getting around the spiral

Metro lines cut across the spiral, which is why a number that looks far on a circular map may be two stops away, and a neighbor number may be a long walk around a station. Always check the station and the line, not only the arrondissement number.

Buses are useful when you want to stay on the surface and see how the districts join. Walking is the way you will actually understand the scale. The 1st to the 4th can be crossed on foot. The 16th or the 19th is a different kind of distance.

If you want a photography walk, pick one neighborhood name and stay inside it for an hour or two. A Paris photography session works better in a single coherent area than in a hop across three numbers. For a simple view of how those sessions are usually routed, see photographers-paris.com.

# Common mix-ups

People confuse the 1st with “all of central Paris.” The 1st is small and central, but the 4th, 5th, and 6th are also central in daily use. People confuse Paris with the wider Île-de-France region. A 92, 93, or 94 postal code is a neighboring department, not a Paris arrondissement. Those places can be excellent and well-connected, but they are not “the 15th by another name.”

People also assume a higher number is always “far” and “less nice.” The 16th and 17th can be quiet and residential. The 11th can be lively and convenient. The 20th has both ordinary streets and well-loved corners. Judge the block, the station, and your plans, not the number as a score.

# Who this system is for, and how much you need to learn

First-time visitors need the spiral, the postal-code trick, and a short list of informal names for the areas they will sleep in and walk in. Repeat visitors can enjoy the finer grain, such as the difference between the upper and lower Marais, or between the 9th around Cadet and the 9th around South Pigalle.

You never need to recite all twenty in order at a dinner table. You only need to stop treating “Paris neighborhoods” as one blur.

# Practical pointers

• Read the 750xx postal code on every booking.
• Treat popular names as useful, not official.
• Plan walking days in clusters, not as a tour of numbers.
• Meet at a station or a square, not “in the 11th.”
• Look at a map of the actual block, especially for Montmartre and “near the tower.”
• Remember that neighboring towns have different postal codes.

# Quick answers

What are Paris neighborhoods called officially? They are twenty arrondissements, numbered in a spiral from the center, with postal codes from 75001 to 75020.

Why do people also say Marais or Montmartre? Those are historic or popular names that can cover part of one district, or parts of two, and they are used in daily speech.

How do you read a hotel address quickly? Look at the 750xx code and the nearest metro, then the informal name.

Is a high number always far from the sights? Not always, but many first-time walks are easier in the lower central numbers. Check the station.

Is the Left Bank a district? No. It is a useful informal way to talk about the south side of the river.

Do you need to learn all twenty? No. Learn the system, then the few areas you will actually use.

# Sources

• Official City of Paris information on the twenty arrondissements
• La Poste postal-code structure for 75001 to 75020
• RATP maps for how metro lines cut across districts
• Standard maps of informal neighborhoods such as Le Marais, the Latin Quarter, and Montmartre
• photographers-paris.com: the sessions page and the homepage