| The Paris Guide |
| Understanding the city layout |
| First of all, it is important to know and understand the different
between the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) and the Rive Droite
(Right Bank). The Seine runs through Paris from the center of the
country out to the sea at Le Havre. It passes through the city from
southeast to northwest, so when stradling the river and looking downstream,
the Left Bank is on the left and the Right Bank is on the right.
The Left Bank has the Latin Quarter, St. Germain, Eiffel Tower, and is
the older part of Paris. The Left Bank has Le Louvre, Champs-Elysees,
Arc de Triomphe, and is the grander, more fashionable and extravagant side.
In fact, there is only one four star hotel on the Left Bank while there
are numerous ones on the Right Bank. The Ile de la Cite and Ile de
St. Louis are separate because they are islands. These are the two
most basic divisions of the city and understanding these will help when
asking for directions.
There are 20 districts which are called arrondisements. The first arrondisement contains most of the area around Le Louvre and the arrondisements spiral clockwise and outward up to the 20th. The majority of the major sights and attractions are located within the first through eigth arrondisements. Also, zip codes of addresses are useful for getting an approximate idea of where they are located. The last two digits are the same as the arrondisement in which the address is located (i.e. 75002 is in the second and 75011 is in the eleventh). To read more about which sights to see are in each of these arrondisements, go to the sections dedicated to just this. |
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