OVERVIEW - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - page 27

among the most commercial area of the city; today, just a
few streets away from the tourist attractions, financial and
administrative offices continue to rule.
The atmosphere of the 1 er is, in a sense, determined by the
Louvre. To its east are the busy traffic junction of Châtelet,
the former site of a dreaded prison, now home to several
popular theatres and Les Halles, the ancient marketplace
transformed into an enormous shopping complex, Forum des
Halles. Les Halles has extensive gardens, a cultural pavilion
and a popular play facility for children, but its periphery is a
hangout for young tourists and street entertainers.
Yet, typical of Paris, tucked just a few streets away is
one of the most peaceful oases of the city—the quiet and
romantic Jardins du Palais-Royal. Spacious old apartments
nestle amidst discreet offices, and residents can still enjoy the
sensation of being buffered from modernity while situated
right in the heart of the city. An interesting neighbour is the
lovely, circular Place des Victoires, home to fashion designers
who occupy the harmonious 17th-century buildings. This may
not be what one considers a real neighbourhood, but it has
its attractions, including a variety of restaurants.
The royal heritage extends west of the Louvre. Kings lived
at the Tuileries in a palace destroyed toward the end of the
last century during the protests of the Paris Commune. What
remains are the Jardins des Tuileries, one of Paris' most
popular parks. Across the rue de Rivoli are both tourist shops
and high-class enterprises of the type that once catered to
the aristocrats who lived in the shadow of the king. Bordered
on the west by the imposing Place de la Concorde, the size
of a small town in itself, the area culminates nearby in the
spectacular granite Place Vendôme, a royal square begun
by Louis XIV in 1686, now home to exclusive banking
establishments, jewellers, offices, a few plush apartments
and the Hotel Ritz.
This remains the upscale end of the arrondissement and the
apartments in the side streets and above the shops along rue
du Rivoli can be comfortable and gracious; much depends on
the shops below and where the tour buses stop. The parallel
street, rue Saint-Honoré, is lined with shops and restaurants,