Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Neighbourhoods at a Glance
1 Eiffel Tower & Western Paris
Home to
very
well-heeled Parisians, this
grande dame
of a neighbourhood is where you can
get up close and personal with the city's symbolic tower as well as striking new architecture
in the high-rise business district of La Défense just outside the
Périphérique
(ring road) en-
circling central Paris.
2 Champs-Élysées & Grands Boulevards
Baron Haussmann famously reshaped the Parisian cityscape around the Arc de Triomphe,
from which 12 avenues radiate like the spokes of a wheel including the glamorous Champs-
Élysées. To its east are gourmet shops garlanding the Église de la Madeleine, the palatial Pal-
ais Garnier opera house and the Grands Boulevards' art nouveau department stores.
3 Louvre & Les Halles
Paris' splendid line of monuments, the
axe historique
(historic axis; also called the grand ax-
is), passes through the Tuileries gardens before reaching IM Pei's glass pyramid at the en-
trance to the world's largest museum, the Louvre. Nearby, the Forum des Halles shopping
precinct is undergoing a much-welcomed makeover.
4 Montmartre & Northern Paris
Montmartre's lofty views, wine-producing vines and hidden village squares have lured paint-
ers from the 19th century and onwards. Crowned by the Sacré-Cœur basilica, Montmartre is
the city's steepest
quartier
(quarter), and its slinking streets lined with crooked ivy-clad
buildings retain a fairytale charm. The Pigalle and Canal St-Martin areas are hotbeds of cre-
ativity.
