Understand Paris [Like a Local]

Understand Paris [Like a Local]

Paris is home to over 12 million
people, making it Europe’s only megacity. And when you lay it all out,
it looks a little bit like spilled spaghetti on the floor. Having a
great time in Paris requires understanding a little bit about the
layout of the city, how to navigate it, and what the heck people mean
when they tell you where to meet them later. I’m Jay Swanson and
I’ve lived in Paris long enough to become French. I know the city
very well and I’m here to share with you exactly everything you need to
know to be well oriented to understand Paris and have a
great time. Let’s get going. Perhaps the defining feature of Paris
is its river, the Seine, which flows from the east to west. The second most
important water feature is Canal Saint- Martin, which runs to the north.
And Paris itself is divided into 20 districts known as arrondissements, numbered from 1 to 20, starting in the middle and
spiraling out until butting up against the suburbs. The word for suburb in
French is banlieue , and to come from the banlieue is
effectively to say that you live in Paris’s shadow. Paris as a city is technically defined by this: the ring road that runs all the way
around the city, known to Parisians [truck honks] Known in French as the periphérique, or to Parisians colloquially as le périph. One of the
things that’s very confusing to the Anglophone mind is the idea of left
bank and right bank, because in our brains we think in terms of north and
south, but in France they don’t do that. It’s all determined based on the
directional flow of the river. So if you don’t know which way the water’s
flowing, you’re kind of screwed. Thankfully, I can help you with that. If it’s
heading towards the Eiffel Tower from anywhere that you’re actually going to
be in Paris, that’s it, actually. The river’s just flowing towards the Eiffel
Tower, pretty much. So that means that on this side is the left bank and
this side is the right bank, because I’m facing the direction of
the flow. That would be north, this would be south. The left bank
is where you’ll find the old money, the Senate, the National assembly and
Luxembourg Gardens. The right bank is where you would traditionally
find the markets, the factories and is the heart of working class Paris.
And that brings us to east versus west. While the factories may
have mostly closed at this point, you’ll find in many European cities that there is a
division between east and west, where the east is more workman friendly
and the west is a little bit more upscale. This is often attributed to the
fact that the wind, like the one I have blowing against me right now, tends to blow east in continental Europe, which drives
factory smoke east and housing values down. And Paris of course is no
exception with the left bank and the west side of the city famous for its golden
triangle and luxury apartments. And the east being a more densely
populated working classes that of the city. So when somebody asks you
if you spend your time on the Left bank or the Right bank in West
Paris or East Paris, they’re going to draw a number of conclusions based on
your answer. Because Parisians are a judgy bunch. This gets even
worse when you start talking about arrondissement. Each
arrondissement has its own reputation, which gets even more granular when you
start talking about neighborhoods or streets. We don’t have enough time to dig into
all of that, but I can give you an overview of all 20, starting
with the first. The Louvre. The that’s basically all that they have room for
in this arrndissement, especially in conjunction with the Tuileries, the gardens that are just
on the other side. But of course this is very well known for its luxury
shopping at Place Vendome, Palais Royal for some really great photos. And there are
some great coffee spots here as well, including one of my favorites.
But I would not stay here for the food. The hidden gem, the second is often
overlooked because it doesn’t have any parks or major monuments. But what it does
have in spades is covered passageways like this. Little markets that
are inside with lots of restaurants and really cute shops. It’s also famous for
Rue Montorgeuil and BNF Richelieu. The big reading room library you have seen on Instagram. The Haut Marais. You’ve heard
of it for fashion week pop ups and delicious food and you could
drown in good coffee here. The Marais. Traditionally home to the gay
and Jewish communities here in Paris. It’s also home to Notre-Dame and as you
can see, gets absolutely swarmed during tourist season. But that’s
okay. We still love it for its charming walks through its narrow streets, the old world
charm, medieval architecture. That is what you’re here for as much as
anything. And then we get out to eat. The student body
between the Sarbonne and the bookstores. This is the most
erudite area of the city, famous for the Pantheon and the Jardin des Plantes.
Elitesville. Unlike in the US elite status in Parisian
society is given out more by prestige than by riches alone.
Which makes it as likely that you’re going to run into a
famous author as you will a senator in the sixth. Old money. The seventh is
home to the Eiffel Tower and is way farther out than you might think.
When I first got here, I thought the Eiffel Tower was at the center of
town. It is not. And this is kind of the destination for a lot of
Americans as their ideal getaway. But personally, not where I would
stay. Empty. This is where the Champs Elysées is and a whole bunch
of upscale shopping, but also like big box retail you can find anywhere,
nightclubs and ultimately the playground of the ultra wealthy. This is a soulless, soulless arroundissement. Get out as quick as you can. Oh.
Before traffic starts. Everything in one. The ninth has the luxury shopping of
Opera, the seedy night life of Pigalle, and the upscale residential charm of
Rue des Martyrs. Very diverse, actually, in everything that it offers.
Homey hipsters. The 10th is where the canal comes above ground. And while it might not win
in any given category, it has a high combined score and a central location that does make it the most charming. Food, Food, food,
food, food. The 11th is the beating heart of Paris’ culinary scene. And while it’s
best known for Bastille, you should probably head towards
Saint-Ambroise, the church here. This is on the tail end of what I like to refer
to as the golden croissant of Paris. The 9th, 10th and the 11th.
And this is where we do the majority of our eating and boozing.
And of course, if you want to know where all my favorite places to eat and drink in Paris are, then all you have to do is hit the QR code here on the
screen or go to ParisInMyPocket.com. grab my guide. You have hundreds of
recommendations of places that I have found over the last decade,
places I love and know for all kinds of different reasons.
Let’s keep going. The sleeper. Both in that the 12th has its cozy
village vibe and that it’s way cooler than I originally thought when I first
moved here. At least the parts that aren’t completely covered by train tracks coming out of Gare de Lyon, which. Which is a shocking amount of this
neighborhood. It’s famous for the Bois de Vincennes and The Couée Verte.
Chinatown. There is no official Chinatown in Paris because the French government does
not allow communities to brand themselves in that way. Totally different discussion.
However, if you do like Asian food, you should get to the 13th.
Are we still in Paris? The 14th has a quiet kind of charm,
like a suburb within Paris. It’s famous for the catacombs,
the Petite Ceinture and naps. Residentialsville. The 15th is far from the action.
But if you’re a young family looking for a place to land and you’re on a budget, this
is going to probably be the best spot for you. New money.
The 16th is famous for its little old ladies and their even littler dogs. Big
gorgeous streets, lots of great museums, and a whole lot of people that
really want you to know that they do have money. You know it. For
Trocadero. Residentialsville+ the 17th is a really modern take on a residential area with some delightful new high rise
apartments and some beautiful parks, including Martin Luther King park that I’m in right now. Batignolles is the area everybody loves
and you’ll know that they live there because much like Harvard graduates
and vegans, they will tell you about it. The Hill. There is more than one hill
in Paris, but of course if you’re thinking of any hill, you’re thinking of
Montmartre, which is the defining feature of the 18th. Village Vibes, friendly
people and charming to the core. Mixed reviews. The 19th has the
rest of the above ground canal, my favorite park in the city, and some
phenomenal restaurants. It also is covered in rail lines and has some of
the most intense petty crime rates in the city. The up and coming.
The 20th is most famous for Père Lachaise, but is also home to a rising
element of standout chefs, is very diverse and well worth some
exploration. Of course, if you’re ever wondering which arrondissement
you’re in at any given time, there’s a cheat and that’s looking at the street signs,
because in the little Napoleon hat at the top you’ll see the number with the
arrondissement ARR in there. 2: the second. E: is like second. You get it? Two. Just the number two. That’s all that matters. That should give you a
decent idea of what to expect from each arrondiseement. And as soon as you get to
the nine that touch the periphérique, you get to the outer ones. You’ll have a
lot of Parisians telling you ohhh c’est trop loin… they think of them as
being outside the city already, which should also give you a feeling
for what it’s like to be from the Banlieue, to feel that much farther out from the city.
Which hopefully is something that’s gonna change as the Greater Paris project
and the new metro lines come online and everyone’s able to access
the city for one low price. So where should you stay? Today,
I’ll sum up the simplest advice for first time visitors, but this can apply to
pretty much everyone, which is if you find Notre-Dame on the map and then
draw a circle around it. About a 20 minute walk from Notre-Dame,
you’re going to have a phenomenal time. You’re going to be very central near the
river in one of the best de honissements to be exploring. Very
walkable, friendly people, great food, great places to go out and easy
public transportation to the rest of the city. So if you’re not used
to it yet, you can get oriented, understand it better, and then
the next time you come to visit, you’ll know maybe a different arrondissement
that you might like even more. But I’m sure if you stay here first, you may never
stay anywhere else. We love it down here. It it is the very center
of Paris. You won’t go wrong. But be careful when picking a central spot
as you might get tricked into thinking the first is as central as it gets.
You’re likely to fall into Les Halles. Originally the hub for
food distribution in Paris, Les Halles also takes up a ton of space in the center of the city. And you are very likely to pass through it at least
once. But that doesn’t mean you want to stay here. Parisians are awfully
divided about Les Halles. But you’ll notice that most of the people that like
I’m friends with them, that we hang out with don’t want to come here.
Cause it’s a giant shopping mall and the busiest metro station in the city. Something like 800,000 people a day
come through here between the metro and the ER. But that also explains the
vibe because the RER goes all the way out into Greater Paris. Of
course, the Greater Paris project is going to bring more Parisians into the center.
And this is where they start. So Les Halles is what a lot of people that live in the Banlieue think of as Paris. They can get a lot of shopping down here. There’s a lot of restaurants, a lot going on. It always used to confuse me why there were so many Parisians here until I understood that.
And it helps you to understand a little bit of the difference in vibes.
When you’ve come to Paris a couple of times and had a chance to explore off
the beaten path, you’re going to have a much better idea of the
neighborhoods that fit your vibe. I have very clear opinions about what I love in Paris
and where I would like to be that might not match up with yours.
In fact, there’s a lot of people that very much disagree with me. And you’ll
only really know that if you come check it out. Try it and see what you like. But until then, I do think playing it safe by sticking central is a really
good idea. And there is nothing more central than Notre-Dame.
So draw that circle right around it. Start there. Maybe you’ll end up staying there, but it’s a really good place to get started.
And now it’s time for a little bit more advanced Parisian lingo. If you come to
Paris and you meet some Parisians and they invite you to hang out later,
you might hear a sentence like this: Oh, we’ll be out in Oberkampf later. Or even worse, we’ll be on the canal or on the river. What do those even mean? On the canal usually means in this area, although often it can mean a larger swath of the 10th.
It can also mean this, and it never means this, although
technically it could. How do you learn all this? You live here. But as you’re learning
these weird little nuances of Parisian life, don’t be embarrassed to ask for the
Parisian in question who’s asking you to meet them somewhere to drop you a pin.
Getting a very specific location is really, really useful, especially
because naming conventions in this city aren’t always the most
creative. And sometimes there are multiple options under the same name.
When you like, search on Google Maps. So having the specific one in that specific place is going to go a long ways. We made an entire video on how to use the metro, so if you want a deep
dive, I would go watch that right now. But the quick and dirty version
would be to grab your Navigo Easy. It’s in the name, it’s a blue
card, and you can buy it at any window in any metro station.
And even in the making of this video, they’ve made two changes, which is what makes
keeping on top of public transportation kind of a nightmare when it comes to videos.
Number one, the Navigo Easy is now purchasable from the ticket machines behind me.
You don’t have to go to a window. They’re still very lovely though,
so I would do that if you’re feeling nervous. 2. It costs €2,50 per ticket, and there’s no bulk discount, so when you buy these, you’re paying €2,50. €25 for 10, €50 for 20.
You’re not going to get a reduction. However, it does get you anywhere in the
greater Paris area on that one ticket, whether that’s RER, train or metro, which is phenomenal. So with your Navigo Easy now, you
can just make it out to Versailles back if you want to, but not to the airport. You still got to pay an extra, like I think €13 to get a ticket to the airport. But that’s okay because now we have
metro lines that make it to the airport. It’s amazing that everything
keeps getting better, if more expensive. Circling back to the Golden
Croissant, we are in Republique, an open square divided between the 10th, 11th and third. Here at the beating heart of
what we love most about life in Paris. Whether you love good
coffee, good food, wine, great beer, shopping, nightlife, just getting a
nice little bit of a grungy but honest taste of life in Paris.
It’s going to be here. République is often referred to in the
same way that you might hear the Canal, Oberkampf referred to.
It all overlaps, but this is going to be a central anchor to your experience in Paris. If you love any of that good stuff.
And a stone throw away from so many things that I absolutely love in
this city. And with this, consider yourself oriented to Paris. It is hectic and
the people can be stressed, cranky and a little aggressive.
It smells like piss. And an embarrassing number of dog owners do not pick
up after their dogs. Traffic is insane, especially as we squeeze cars out to
make room for bikes. And the bike lanes are manic as Parisians try to pretend
that they’re Dutch. It’s loud, it’s overcrowded sometimes and a little bit overpriced. And I love it. This is my favorite
city on earth. And I hope that this video helps you to understand
how you can make it your own. And if you liked this video, be sure to
watch this one on how to spend your first 24 hours in Paris, or this
one on how to use the metro like a master. Just remember that Navigo Easy
has changed a little bit since we made that video. I’m Jay Swanson, and
this has been Paris In My pocket’s guide to understanding Paris like a local.
I hope you have the best time possible while you’re here.

Don’t get lost on your next trip to Paris, this is everything you need to know to understand the basic layout of the city and how Parisians talk about it (and might even tell you where to meet them later). Grab my full guide for ALL my recommendations here: https://go.parisinmypocket.com/ntMW4z

I hope this video helped orient you to Paris, and the difference between things like the left bank and right bank, or river Seine and Canal Saint-Martin.

00:00 Introduction
00:32 Basic Geography
01:13 Right and Left Banks
01:53 East and West Paris
02:38 Arrondissements 1-5
03:59 Arrondissements 6-10
05:03 Arrondissements 11-15
06:22 Arrondissements 16-20
08:08 Where to Stay
08:55 Les Halles
10:19 Speaking Parisian
11:10 The Metro
12:10 République
12:43 Conclusion

Music by @dcuttermusic and @Dyalla