Paris 1st District
Paris 1st district is nestled in the heart of Paris. One of the city’s oldest districts, it is also one of the smallest, covering just 1.83 km². It stretches along the Rive Droite of the Seine, it also encompasses the western tip of the Ile de la Cité.
Paris 1st district includes: Quartier Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois, Quartier des Halles, Quartier du Palais-Royal, and Quartier de la Place Vendôme.
Paris 1st district is nestled in the heart of the city. As one of the oldest districts in Paris, it is also one of the smallest, with an area of only 1.83 km². It extends along the right bank of the Seine and also encompasses the western end of the Île de la Cité.
QUARTIER SAINT-GERMAIN L’AUXERROIS: Paris 1st district’s history begins with the construction of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois. The Normans destroyed the original oratory during their siege of Paris in 886-887. The chapel that replaced it remained the only religious building in the area for centuries. At that time, the right bank of the Seine was still largely a vast marshland left by an ancient meander of the Seine.
The QUARTIER DES HALLES began to develop after 1180, when King Philip-Augustus had a rampart built around the right bank and erected the Louvre Fortress to protect Les Halles, the covered market created in 1135 by King Louis the Fat. From its origins, Les Halles district was a nerve centre and densely populated. With the increase in population, new parish churches, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles and Saint-Roch, were built, as Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois could no longer accommodate the growing number of parishioners.
QUARTIER DU PALAIS-ROYAL and QUARTIER DE LA PLACE VENDÔME: The Palais-Royal was built in 1624, and the Place Vendôme in 1739, near the Louvre. These buildings transformed the western part of the district into one of the most elegant and aristocratic districts in Paris.
Even today, Paris 1st district’s prestige rests on its jewellery trade, concentrated around Place Vendôme and the famous Rue de la Paix. Although it is one of the least populated districts, it boasts an exceptional cultural and historical heritage. It boasts no fewer than 247 listed monuments and 4 major museums, including the world-renowned Louvre, and numerous French and international tourist offices. It is also, and this may seem surprising, the second greenest district in Paris, thanks to its prestigious gardens and historic squares, after the 12th District (which is home to the Parc de Bercy and the Bois de Vincennes).
Metro stations serving Paris 1st District
Line 1: Concorde, Tuileries, Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre, Louvre-Rivoli, Châtelet
Line 4: Châtelet, Les Halles, Etienne Marcel
Line 7: Pyramides, Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre, Pont-Neuf, Châtelet
Line 8: Concorde, Madeleine
