Guide to Paris and Île-de-France

Paris and Île-de-France
The greater Paris region, comprising the départements of:
Paris (75),
Seine-et-Marne (77),
Yvelines (78),
Essonne (91),
Hauts-de-Seine (92),
Seine-St-Denis (93),
Val-de-Marne (94) and
Val-d'Oise(95).

Population: 10.6 million
Principal city: Paris
Tourist board

Although with 10.6 million inhabitants it is by far the most populous region, the Île-de-France also boasts the forests of Fontainebleau, Rambouillet and Compiègne, the châteaux of Versailles and Fontainebleau and the Brie cheese from Seine-et-Marne.

As Paris outgrew 75 (Seine), it had to be sub-divided. The numbers above 91 are the suburbs, or banlieues. In some instances this word retains the connotation of the leafy middle-class outskirts of a city (eg as in Neuilly-Auteuil-Passy, the chic suburbs of Paris). Increasingly, however, the expression is taken to refer to the deprived areas of low-cost housing.

Since French number plates (plaques d'immatriculation) end with the number of the département the driver lives in, you can immediately tell where anyone has come from. Cars bearing Parisian (75) number plates are traditionally disparaged by other drivers if they are seen outside of the capital: Parisians' aggressive driving techniques are legendary.

Ville de Paris (75)

The Paris arrondissements

Population: 2,152,000

Tourist board

"Whoever looks into the depths of Paris gets dizzy. Nothing so fantastic, nothing so tragic, nothing so superb." Victor Hugo

Some sights in and around each arrondissement

1st: The square du Vert-Galant, Samaritaine department store, jardin des Tuileries, the Louvre, jardin du Palais Royal, Les Halles

2nd: Palais de la Bourse (stock exchange)

3rd: St-Martin-des-Champs

4th: The islands, the Pompidou Centre, the Bastille, the place des Vosges

5th: The place St-Michel, Panthéon, Sorbonne, rue Mouffetard

6th: St-Sulpice and the Paris Meridian

7th: Eiffel Tower, faubourg St-Germain, Invalides, champ de Mars

8th: Champs-Élysées, Arc de triomphe, place de la Concorde, Petit Palais

9th: The Palais-Garnier, Galeries Lafayette, Au Printemps, the Grands boulevards

10th: The canal St-Martin

11th: Place de la Bastille

12th: Opéra de la Bastille, Palais Omnisports, bois de Vincennes

13th: Chinatown

14th: Catacombs, Observatory

15th: Tour Montparnasse

16th: The bois de Boulogne, Radio France, palais de Chaillot

17th: La Défense (outside Périphérique)

18th: Montmartre, Pigalle

19th: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Parc de la Villette

20th: Père Lachaise cemetery

One of the most beautiful tourist cities in the world. Greater Paris covers 479 sq km, and has a population of ten million, having doubled since the war. The part that matters to the visitor, encircled by the Périphérique and bisected by the River Seine, covers only 106 sq km and has only just over 2.5 million inhabitants.

Its compactness, and the efficiency and cheapness of the métro, make it a delight to visit at any time of the year. It has more than 10,000 cafés, restaurants and night clubs, 220 art galleries, 465 cinemas and 48 concert halls.

In 1977 Jacques Chirac became the first mayor of Paris since 1870, replacing a state-appointed préfet by a politician answerable to the voters. The competition between Chirac and President Mitterrand meant a resurgence of development from grandiose projects to new housing and roads. Not all new building is totally in keeping with the old, but Paris has nevertheless been cited by the Prince of Wales as an example for London to follow.

The city is divided into 20 administrative arrondissements in a spiral pattern starting at the place de la Concorde. Each arrondissement has its own mayor, but the mayor of the whole of Paris resides in the Town Hall on the Seine in the fourth arrondissement. Parisians drop the word arrondissement and refer to themselves as living — if they are chic — in the seizième.

Montmartre, the area in the north of Paris which is home to the Sacré-Coeur basilica, has an atmosphere all of its own. It also has its own peculiarities, including a viable vineyard. Surprisingly, there are other vineyards in Paris, although some of them might be just a vine standing on a balcony: Jacques Mélac, the owner of a Paris wine-bar, started an association called the Vignerons de Paris. Mélac himself harvests about 60 kilos of grapes a year from his vines, which grow around the outside of his Parisian bar.

The cancan (immortalised in Toulouse-Lautrec's posters) scandalised French society from its debut in 1833. Now it is a staple of the dancers at the Moulin Rouge. Famous for its Bluebell Girls, the Paris Lido also presents a highly sophisticated and dazzling cabaret-show, and has teamed up with top chef Paul Bocuse to present an equally spectacular menu. Lunch at one of Paris's most famous restaurants, Maxim's, is in a class all of its own. It was here that the infamous spy Mata Hari danced with British officers and here too that members of the Royal Family always dined at table 16.

St-Germain-des-Prés is a lively area, known as the 'intellectual' quarter of Paris with its bookstores, antiquarian shops and cafés, which were meeting places for writers such as Sartre. In the midst stands the ancient, peaceful church of St-Germain-des-Prés.

Café culture is still very much alive in Paris. Amongst the more famous establishments is Harry's Bar, at 'Sank Roo Doe Noo' (5 rue Daunou) a nostalgic American jazz bar frequented by Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Gershwin. It boasts that nothing has changed since its opening in 1911. On the more modern end of the scale, the Costes brothers, from the Auvergne, have had a profound influence on the style and decor of modern Parisian cafés. The Hotel Costes and the Café Marly are just two examples of their work. There are a variety of salons de thé in Paris, ranging from the elegant décor of Angélina's to the cross-cultural atmosphere of the tea-room at the Paris mosque where mint tea is served.

Apart from the obligatory museums and art galleries such as the Louvre, the Pompidou Centre and the Musée d'Orsay, there are many smaller museums throughout the city. Situated in the Marais district of Paris is a very unusual museum of magic, the brainchild of Georges Proust, a psychology graduate and former teacher. Another museum, the Albert Kahn Museum near the Bois de Boulogne, reminds us of the philanthropist Albert Kahn who decided, in the early 20th century, to capture everyday scenes on autochrome glass plates. The present day Bagatelle lodge in the bois de Boulogne was built in 64 days as the result of a wager between its owner, the comte d'Artois, and his sister-in-law, Marie-Antoinette. Its gardens are an oasis on the edge of Paris.

The familiar blue and white street-name plaques of Paris not only immortalise the great and famous, but often reflect the history of daily life, and many of them have surprising origins, including prostitution, disease and crime (for instance the rue Vide-Gousset — 'Cut-Purse Street' — and rue de la Petite-Truanderie — 'Gangster Street'). The Pont-Neuf (literally the 'new' bridge) is in fact the oldest bridge in Paris, built between 1578 & 1607. It links the île-de-la-Cité to the rest of the city, and had a central (albeit non-speaking) rôle in the film Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, and has been restored in recent years. Upstream of the île-de-la-Cité is the island village of île-St-Louis stands in the heart of the city. Here you can buy "the best ice-cream in Europe" and see original and unusual shop signs.

The Père Lachaise cemetery, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, is the last resting place of the rich and famous: Sarah Bernhardt, Edith Piaf, Delacroix, Chopin and Oscar Wilde, to mention just a few. The animal version of Père Lachaise, the Cimetière des chiens in the suburb of Asnières contains cats, birds and even a lioness and a gazelle, as well as canine remains. Established in 1899 by two animal lovers, the cemetery provides a lasting haven for beloved pets.

The Métro, along with the Eiffel Tower and Edith Piaf, is one of the symbols of Paris. With its evocative names (Oberkampf, Pigalle, Arts et Métiers) it manages to lend a certain romanticism to what is a very efficient transport system. The year 2000 was the centenary of the metro system in Paris, and it allowed Parisians to reflect on the wonderful designs of the entrances, each with different art nouveau features: mats tulipes, wriggly railings and canopies. Many trains and métro stations, however, are now daubed with spray paint. Politicians such as Jack Lang and Jacques Chirac have hailed this phenomenon as "a means of expression", but rail officials do not agree.

The Paris metro system would not be the same without its buskers: these underground entertainers play a variety of music ranging from rock to classical music. Other performers you may encounter on your travels are mime artists and 'living sculptures', who adopt poses sometimes for several hours at a time. Murals and painted advertisements are enjoying something of a revival in Paris. Amongst the most impressive is a gigantic trompe-l'oeil staircase in rue Étienne-Marcel.

Deeper and longer than the métro, the catacombs underneath the capital date back to Gallo-Roman days, and plaster of Paris was mined here tuntil the 18th century. Now, they are a haven for graffiti artists and explorers escaping from the city above. The parc des Buttes-Chaumont has seen many changes, from its original use in the Middle Ages as a plaster quarry and even less pleasant times after the Revolution to its present-day peaceful atmosphere.

More evidence of the year 2000: you may see evidence of the Paris Meridian, a line through the two poles and the centre of Paris that predates the Greenwich Meridian. Bastille Day 2000 was celebrated by the planting of trees down the entire length of this meridian, from Dunkerque to the Pyrenees, with brass markers through built up areas.

Some of the lesser-known treats of Paris are a trip along the canal St-Martin, which takes you under the place de la Bastille, the very fine galeries around the Bourse, and the auction rooms of Salle Drouot. Sewers may not be every person's first port of call, but for those who are interested tours in sluice boats are on offer in the égouts de Paris. There is also a museum explaining the development of the system. There are 30 variations of green apparatus dedicated to cleaning the streets of Paris, under the banner of Propriété de Paris. The most inventive of these must be the caninette, a motorbike-cum-vacuum cleaner which acts as a pooper-scooper.

The green padlocked boxes of the bouquinistes along the Seine are very much a part of the Parisian landscape. Each bouquiniste must open at least 4 days a week and they must stick to their limit of 8 metres of territory. Another typically Parisian feature are the colonnes Morris which are dotted around the capital. Named after the company that printed the theatrical posters they displayed, the latest model incorporates features from the Belle Époque design along with modern lighting.

Seine-et-Marne (77)

Population: 1 million
Principal city: Melun
Tourist board

This is the largest département in the Île-de-France (it occupies around half of the entire region), and is most famous for a château that lies diametrically opposite to Versailles across Paris: that of Disneyland Paris.

A more authentic theme park ambience continues to some extent in Provins's chivalric tournaments in period costume: it was an important and busy place in medieval towns on account of its two annual fairs, in which merchants from all over Europe come to trade. Provins has been linked with roses for centuries: its red rose was adopted by its suzerain, Edmund of Lancaster. Here, they are not just beautiful flowers but are also the inspiration for artists and craftsmen and are used in all sorts of products such as honey and local dishes.

Amongst its most impressive and historical châteaux, however, are Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte.

When Louis XIV was invited to his minister Nicolas Fouquet's château of Vaux-le-Vicomte (north-east of Melun) he was so taken with it he commissioned a larger, grander version at Versailles. Fouquet, however, learned that it did not pay to upstage the King, and was arrested on embezzlement charges.

Fontainebleau, south of Melun, is a huge and fantastic accretion of building styles. Louis VII built an abbey here that was consecrated by Thomas à Beckett in 1169, before he returned to Canterbury and his notorious death. In the Renaissance, François I commissioned a large Italianate château for the site; a grandiose hunting lodge for the extensive surrounding forest. Most remarkable is the horseshoe-shaped stairway, which allowed carriages to pass through the open end, allowing the passengers to alight on each side onto steps to the doorway above. It was from this staircase that Napoléon left to his first exile in 1814.

South of Fontainebleau, the Anglo-French Impressionist Alfred Sisley was inspired by the medieval town of Moret-sur-Loing.

Yvelines (78)

Population: 1 million
Principal city: Versailles
Tourist board

Remains found in Yvelines prove that the Paris basin was populated way back into prehistoric times. There are also several Roman remains, including roads and potters' workshops and sanctuaries such as the one at Septeuil. The Middle Ages left castles such as Chevreuse, Houdan, Maurepas and Beynes. After the Hundred Years War, the royal court resided in this area with increasing frequency, at St-Germain-en-Laye or Rambouillet. Louis XIII's acquisition of the hunting territory of Versailles sealed the glory of the region: Louis XIV, whom the Fronde rebellion (against Cardinal Mazarin during the King's minority) had chased from the Louvre, decided to build a new palace on his father's domain in 1668.

The architect Louis Le Vau designed the first buildings, to which were added huge north and south wings by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (not, as is often thought, the originator of the mansard roof, but his great-nephew). The fantastic fountains, pools and symmetrical gardens were laid out by André Le Nôtre, and are a monumental project that served as a model for many other gardens around the world. Louis XIV built the Grand Trianon in the grounds as a retreat from court life, and used the Grand Canal for his waterborne parties. Louis XV built the Opera House and the Petit Trianon, which later became the favourite residence of Marie-Antoinette.

By the time the Sun King died, the area of Versailles had increased from 350 hectares to 6,000 hectares. It remained the royal residence and seat of government until the Revolution, where several decisive moments occurred here: the proclamation of the Assemblée Nationale, the meeting of the Jeu de paume, the abolition of feudal privileges, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

After the Revolution Versailles lost its rôle as the national capital, but became the chief town of the département of Seine-et-Oise. In 1964 Seine-et-Oise, which had become far too populous an entity, was split into seven new ones, including Yvelines. The département is known for its forests: Rambouillet, St-Germain, Marly, Versailles, Rosny, Bois de l'Hautil, which cover 30% of its total area and which provide leisure activities for the people of Paris. However, there is also a great deal of industry, particularly at St-Quentin, Mantes-la-Jolie and Poissy (birthplace of Saint Louis). There are also quarries along the Seine Valley. Conflans-Ste-Honorine, to the north-west of Paris, was once a thriving meeting-place for river traffic, particularly barges. Although the principal town politically, Versailles is nowhere near as large as the new town of St-Quentin-en Yvelines.

Rambouillet is also renowned for its château, at various times a feudal castle, country estate, luxury hunting lodge, imperial residence, site of a funfair and lastly presidential summer residence. François I died here in 1547 in the large tower now named after him. The present château was rebuilt by the Count of Toulouse in 1706, and is L-shaped, owing to the demolition of a wing by Napoléon. It is perhaps most famous for the Laiterie de la Reine, the Queen's Dairy, which was built by Louis XVI to keep Marie-Antoinette amused.

Essonne (91)

Population: 1 million
Principal city: Évry
Tourist board

The north and the south of the département are chalk and cheese: to the north is the huge Paris overspill, which crept out between the two World Wars, first along the valleys before spreading out across the plains; dormitory towns like Draveil and Juvisy-sur-Orge (the densest population in the département, with 5,299 inhabitants per square kilometre).

To the south, the rural character of Essonne has survived intact. Brick and stone became popular in the late 16th and early 17th centuries; some of the most elegant esamples are at Courances, Chamarande, Bellesbat, Yerres and Villiers-le-Bâcle. Museums include the Salis Aviation Museum at Cerny-la-Ferté-Alais and the old crafts exhibition at Bouray-sur-Juine, evoking bee-keeping, carpentry, smithery, clog-making and cooperage. Local produce includes watercress from Méréville and honey from Orsay.

Hauts-de-Seine (92)

Population: 1.4 million
Principal city: Nanterre
Tourist board

Malmaison, is renowned for its rose gardens. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, the château was purchased by Joséphine Tascher de La Pagerie: Joséphine Bonaparte. She continued to embellish and enlarge her estate, collecting works of art and installing more garden features. She had a greenhouse built in which she acclimated the rarest plant species and created a rose garden, which is still one of the most important in France. Boulogne-Billancourt is famous for its large Renault factory; Sèvres for its porcelain and its ceramics museum.

The most famous sites of the département are found at La Défense; including the Grande Arche and the 180-metre Elf building.

Seine-St-Denis (93)

Population: 1.4 million
Principal city: Bobigny
(French language site)
Tourist board

Contrary to what the département's name suggests, the town of St-Denis is not the préfecture, although it is twice as large as Bobigny. When Saint Denis, the first bishop of Roman Paris was beheaded in Montmartre, he picked up his head and walked to the spot where he was finally buried. An abbey developed on the site, which became a destination for pilgrimage: started in the 12th century and completed during the reign of St Louis, the basilica is one of the most history-laden buildings in France. It was a symbolic link between the papacy and the crown, and was a royal burial place from Dagobert I to Louis XVIII - a span of twelve centuries.

Aside from the basilique Saint-Denis itself, there are many visits of interest in the département, including the Cité des Sciences at La Villette, the St-Ouen antique and flea market, the Stade de France, the musée de l'Air (aeronautical and space museum). There are also museums of cars and goldsmithery. Helicopter tours offer views over the département's major landmarks: see the tourist board's website for more details.

Val-de-Marne (94)

Population: 1.2 million
Principal city: Créteil
(French-language site)

Situated to the south-east of Paris, Val de Marne was created out of elements of the départements of Seine and Seine-et-Oise in 1964, for they had become far too populous (and indeed, the Val-de-Marne is itself one of the most populous départements in France).

The château of Choisy-le-Roi was bought by Louis XV and made into a glorious royal residence. Following the opulence life here, the château suffered during the Revolution. Rouget de L'Isle, composer of the Marseillaise, was buried here, and the town was a scene of fierce struggle during the Franco-Prussian war.

L'Haÿ-des-Roses is home to internationally renowned rose gardens that were created in 1892. Boissy-St-Léger, with its 15th-century château de Grosbois (15th century) on the other hand, is known for its orchids. Other historic sites in the area include the château fort de Vincennes (12th-17th century), and the 12th-century churches at Créteil, Marolles, St-Maur-des-Fosses and Champigny.

The Val-de-Marne is a mixture of the superlative and the mundane. Take, for instance, Choisy-le-Roi, which boasts one of the most hi-tech sewage treatment centres in Europe. Ivry-sur-Seine (where a fine windmill stands in the centre of a built-up area) is noticed more for its urban refuse treatment centre, the largest in the world.

Also the largest in the world is the modern national market at Rungis, which was resited outside of Paris for logistical reasons. Another important modern development is the airport at Orly.

Val-d'Oise (95)

Population: 1 million
Principal city: Pontoise
Tourist board

Vétheuil, Argenteuil, Pontoise, L'Isle-Adam and Auvers-sur-Oise are names that every art lover knows intimately. They were all loved by the great painters of the 19th century.

This is the countryside frequented by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and Van Gogh, and which makes for pleasant walks along riverbanks or in the woods. The chateau in Auvers-sur-Oise invites visitors into an audio-visual world that plunges them back a century: Paris in the Belle Époque, with the riverscapes of the Île-de-France, the guinguettes and the picnics on the grass.

Pontoise itself dedicates a museum to Pissarro, whose influence in the Impressionism movement is frequently underestimated. Other interesting museums in the area are the Musée National de le Renaissance at Écouen, in the château; the museum of yesteryear in Argenteuil, the archaeology museums at Ermont, Louvres, Guiry-en-Vexin and Parmain; the musée Louis-Senlecq in L'Isle-Adam; the Jean-Jacques Rousseau museum in Montmorency. There is an armour museum at Osny, and also a fire service museum in the firehouse.

The region of le Vexin français is green and pleasant, with many fine churches. It is so named because part of Vexin lies in Normandy, which became French in only 1468. There are many impressive châteaux in the département; including those of Vigny, Ambleville, Auvers-sur-Oise, Écouen, Guiry-en-Vexin, Montgeroult and Villers-en-Arthies. Also impressive are the abbeys of Royaumont (founded by Saint Louis), Maubuisson and Notre-Dame-du-Val.