Parisian Arrondissements

Today, here at Albany Creek in Brisbane it's 30 degrees C.  In Paris, it's -7 degrees.........I really can't imagine how cold that is.

But in just 7 weeks we'll be bunkering down in 'l'appartement trés charmant' in Paris. So...where is l'appartement?  Well, before we get to that I thought you might be interested to know the arrondissements' orginal old names - some of them are trés cute!

1. 1st................Louvre
2. 2nd..............Bourse
3. 3rd...............Temple
4. 4th...............Hotel-de-Ville
5. 5th...............Pantheon
6. 6th...............Luxembourg
7. 7th...............Palais-Bourbon
8. 8th...............Elysee
9. 9th...............Opera
10. 10th.............Enclos-St-Laurent
11. 11th.............Popincourt
12. 12th.............Reuilly
13. 13th.............Gobelins
14. 14th.............Observatoire
15. 15th.............Vaugirard
16. 16th.............Passy
17. 17th.............Batignolles-Monceau
18. 18th.............Butte-Montmartre
19. 19th.............Buttes-Chaumont
20. 20th.............Menilmontant

I haven't visited all of these arrondissements............but they're all on my Paris 'to do' list.

1st arrondissement - the Louvre...will have to find a way to jump that long queue 

1st arrondissement - a stroll through the garden of the Palais Royal is divine.

2nd arrondissement - Galerie Vivienne and home to a really fab wine bar

3rd arrondissement - courtyard of the Musée Carnavalet

4th arrondissement - the medieval Marais district

5th arrondissement - just strolling around

6th arrondissement - Jardin du Luxembourg

6th arrondissement - soaking up the sun in the Jardin du Luxembourg

7th arrondissement - what is that in the background?

7th arrondissement - guess where?

One of our favourite spots in the 7th arr.

9th arrondissement - le fleuriste on rue des Martyrs
And this is where we'll be living this year....the lower part of the 9th arrondissement.

After lots and lots of searching, we settled on a lovely apartment in the lower 9th arrondissement, known at St Georges.  The apartment ticked all our boxes - Haussmannian building, parquet timber floors, fireplace, large windows allowing lots of light into the apartment, 3rd floor with lift, lovely view of the neighbourhood, 80 square metres and a modern, well equipped kitchen.

This quartier is quiet, safe, central with great Metro connections and gorgeous architecture.  

Did you know that this piece of central Paris was known as La Nouvelle Athenes during the 19th century for its classically styled architecture and the Grecophilia of the many artists and writers who lived here?

Just down from l'appartment is the Musée Gustave Moreau and around the corner is the lovely Musée de la Vie Romantique.  And of course, there is the great Opera Garnier in this quartier.....the place for the world's best in music and opera, and now the home of ballet and dance centre.  A visit to this wondrous building, which is also the site of Chagall's colossal ceiling in the main hall, is on the top of my Paris 'must do' list.

There are fab restaurants close-by and rue des Martyrs, our local street market, is only a short stroll away.  

So.......this will be our home for most of this year and into 2013......for April and May however, we'll be in Montmartre as the St Georges apartment was already rented.  Never mind.....we'll get to experience two Parisian quartiers each with their own charm and style.  I'll tell you more about Montmartre once we arrive on 1 April.

Now only 51 sleeps to go!

You might also like my post on:
http://parisallons-y.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/just-beginning.html