Finding Your Way Around Paris, France

		Finding Your Way Around Paris
		Tom prefers landmarks and Métro stations, Jane likes the traditional Paris arrondissements, but all of these can help you find your way around Paris.

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Gilded dome of Les
Invalides, a useful
landmark on the skyline
of Paris, France.

Paris is a city of landmarks: the River Seine, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides...great towers and domes, plazas and avenues.

With a little study you'll be able to find your way around this huge, sprawling city with a minimum of confusion.

Here are some maps of Paris.

Landmarks

Finding your way around Paris is easier if you are familiar with at least some of these landmarks.

You'll see them from the many places in Paris from which you can enjoy panoramic views of the city: the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacré-Coeur and more. You'll also see some of these monuments as you look down avenues and streets, or across open spaces.

In terms of transportation from one place to another, and finding a place you want to go, Métro stations are the way. With over 300 stations, there is sure to be a Métro station near your destination.

In each station is a detailed Plan du Quartier (neighborhood map) showing not only streets, but also significant buildings, with their names. Study the Plan du Quartier before you leave the Métro station and you'll be on your way straight to your destination. More...

Arrondissements

We'll always tell you the arrondissement (district or "borough") but we don't want you to have to learn a boring governmental system just to get around. More...

Changing Street Names

Note that many Paris streets change names as they make their way through the city. (For example, the avenue that is named rue de Rivoli on the west side of the Saint-Paul Métro station is named rue Saint-Antoine on the east side of the station—same street.)

If you come to a street corner and don't see the street name you expect, look on the opposite corner.

Here are some landmarks and districts you should know:

Right Bank

If you're cruising downstream in a boat on the River Seine, the right (north) bank of the river in the middle of the city is where you find the Louvre Museum, the Jardin des Tuileries, Avenue des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra Garnier, the classy boutiques along the rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, and, in general, the traditionally higher-status part of town.