A former industrial city, the district is still home to the incredible Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins, which has been making tapestries for French palaces for over four centuries. This world-famous institution is also home to the Mobilier National, built by Auguste Perret in 1934, where the greatest craftsmen collaborate with artists such as Fernand Léger, Alexandre Calder, Sonia Delaunay and the new guard of contemporary designers, giving birth to original woven works.

Not far away, on Boulevard Arago, lies the extraordinary secret garden of the Cité Fleurie. A former collection of artists’ studios built in the middle of lush vegetation at the end of the 19th century for the Universal Exhibition, this place conveys the soul of its illustrious residents, from Paul Gauguin to Amedeo Modigliani.

The Gobelins district is very pleasant to live in and offers many cultural spaces, local shops and green spaces to its residents. Its Haussmannian buildings stand side by side with small houses lining green and flowery alleys.

A former religious stronghold of the capital, the district owes its name to the Val-de-Grâce abbey located on the Place Alphonse Laveran. A rare Parisian building in the Baroque style, this church was built by François Mansart on the orders of Queen Anne of Austria for the birth of Louis XIV. During the Revolution, the abbey became a military hospital, which has now been converted into a museum for the Army Medical Corps.

This district is also home to numerous university sites and research institutes such as the Curie Institute, one of the most important in France. Rue d’Ulm is home to the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs, which has held a prominent place in the history of creation and design in France for many years. Restructured by the famous architects Philippe Starck and Luc Arsène-Henry in 2004, the building has a strong identity with its white Carrara marble façade.

Home to municipal institutions since 1357, the splendid Hôtel de Ville building reigns supreme in the Marais district. Bordered by the rue de Rivoli on one side and the Seine on the other, its ideal location offers Parisians a spectacular meeting place. Its immense square regularly hosts events, evolving with the seasons and unveiling magical settings for each occasion.

Opposite the Hôtel de Ville monument is the BHV Marais, a former bazaar, this department stores’ made up of several buildings in a pure Haussmann style is a must for Parisians. Adorned with original shops, the district is also characterised by the famous rue de Rivoli, one of the most commercial streets in Paris.

Finally, located between the Pont Neuf and the Pont de Notre-Dame, the Quais des Gesvres and the Quais de la Mégisserie invite you to take a nice walk along the Seine. During the summer, the famous Paris Plages is held in the district, which then takes on the air of a Mediterranean coast, where sunbeds and games of pétanque are invited.

Full of mythical places and symbolic streets, the Saint-Thomas d’Aquin district is a must in the 7th arrondissement. Crossed by the rue de Sèvre, the rue du Bac and the boulevard Saint-Germain, it is difficult to escape the typically Parisian atmosphere of the area.

In front of the Sèvre-Babylone metro exit, you will come face to face with the first department stores’ to be built: the Bon Marché. Founded in 1838, this refined and singular place with its cutting-edge selection and top-of-the-range services is a reference on the Left Bank. Designed by the architect Louis-Charles Boileau and the engineer Gustave Eiffel, its building combines non-conformism and elegance. Dressed inside with sublime Art Deco windows, you can’t escape its dazzling escalator, sublimated at every opportunity by artists of all kinds.

A joyful mix of genres, Saint-Thomas d’Aquin is also home to the Sciences Po school, the Hôtel Matignon, the Ministry of National Education, and numerous embassies and universities, adding to its student and political character.

Of course, there is no shortage of good places to go, with prestigious restaurants, excellent food shops and fantastic bookshops offering an incomparable quality of life.

Crossed by the famous boulevards Malesherbes and Haussmann, the Mairie district is surrounded by numerous green spaces and is particularly popular with families. There are excellent schools such as the Lycée Chaptal or Fénelon, as well as fine food shops and grocery shops.

The town hall of the 8th arrondissement, also called “Hôtel Cali”
in homage to its former owner, the industrialist
Jean-François Cali, is an old private mansion listed as a Historic Monument. Completed in 1865, its interior still features the magnificent sculpted decorations of Pierre-Édouard Charrier, who also worked for the Louvre Palace.

The Marcel Pagnol square offers residents a little green space, with its pretty fountain with flowering basins and the bronze statue of the poet Paul Déroulède built by the sculptor Landowski. In the background is the imposing Saint-Augustin church, whose originality lies in its eclectic style, inspired by Roman and Byzantine art, as well as in its majestic dome.