Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
The City of Paris is administratively divided into 20 arrondissements. Each one has its own atmosphere. The ninth arrondissement, with zip code 75009, was once only a busy district with few parks and one main attraction : Boulevard Haussman and its world famous department stores: Le Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.
The ninth arrondissement is still very busy, but its status has changed from an office district with banking and commercial activities to a residential district where posh people live. This is first due to the high quality of available 19th century Haussman style apartments in the district, complemented by iconic 19th century buildings and churches such as Saint-Lazare station and La Trinité church, turning the Arrondissement into a perfect decor.
There are also iconic squares such as Place Saint-Georges, combining to perfection most attributes of the best Paris: charm, quietness, bars and restaurants, theaters, out of the beaten track shops and few tourists
There are quiet and affordable hotels in this pleasant district around Place Saint Georges such as Hotel Georges.
The lovely rue des Martyrs, cutting across the district toward Sacré-Coeur and Montmartre, is today one of the most lively and fashionable market streets in town. Its restaurants and food shops have not yet disappeared to give way to the unavoidable fashion stores that now abound in town.
The busy Saint-Lazare station, with trains to Normandy beaches, the most famous being D-Day beaches, and Giverny, Monet’s house and gardens, has been renovated. Its lobby has been turned into a shopping mall.
The museums in the ninth arrondissement include the fascinating Gustave Moreau Museum and the Museum of Romantic Life, an unexpected oasis so close to the department stores with a garden and a lovely outdoor tea room.
The ninth arrondissement also has a huge concentration of theaters staging vaudevilles, interesting creation shows and high quality musicals. The Folies Bergères, Théatre Mogador and Théatre de Paris are specially renowned.
Add to that the Opera Garnier, the Grévin Museum and beautiful restaurants, such as Art Nouveau Restaurant La Brasserie Mollard. The ninth arrondissement is a lively, trendy and central arrondissement for a great stay in Paris.
