The 16th arrondissement of Paris is mainly residential, however many tourists come to visit the numerous museums and some remarkable places of interest, such as Palais Chaillot, or Bois de Boulogne. The district houses an incredible amount of embassies and consulates, and world famous sports arenas such as the parc des Princes and the stade Rolland Garros.
The district is divided into four areas:
- Quartier d’Auteuil (South)
- Quartier de la Muette (Centre)
- Quartier de la Porte-Dauphine (North West)
- Quartier de Chaillot (North East)
Famous places
The 16th arrondissement is home to several famous French people and is also renowned for its wealthy properties, for example the Villa Montmorency (where Nicolas Sarkozy lives). Although a residential area, the district still offers an incredible amount of museums:
- Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris (Palais de Tokyo), a museum dedicated to 20/21st century arts.
- Musée de la Contrefaçon, a museum which explores counterfeiting.
- Musée du Vin, a wine museum
- Musée Galliera, a fashion museum
- Musée Marmottan, a private museum housing the biggest collection of Claude Monet’s works
- Maison de Balzac, a literary museum, where Honoré de Balzac lived from 1840 to 1847
- Musée des monuments Français, a museum dedicated to French monuments
Two palaces are also worth a look:
- Palais de Chaillot, a palace built for the 1937 universal exhibition, where the former Trocadero Palace sat.
- Palais de Tokyo, a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The West wing belongs to the city of Paris, and the West wing belongs to the State, and has housed the museum of modern art since 2002.
The district has an abundance of parks, squares and gardens (around thirty). The most famous one is indeed the Bois de Boulogne, with its 2,091 hectares of parks and amenities. It is considered as one of the “lungs” of Paris, being 3.3 times bigger than Hyde Park in London, and two and a half times the size of Central Park in New York. The central part of the bois de Boulogne houses the Parc de Bagatelle and the Garden of Pré-Catelan. The north part is occupied by the Jardin d’Acclimatation, an amusement park famous for its menagerie. The South Western part houses the jardin des serres d’Auteuil, a botanical garden.
A couple of events which may be of interest when you plan your trip include:
- French Open — The second of the years four Grand Slam tennis tournaments is held over two weeks in late May and early June at Stade Roland Garros. The venue is open for tours year-round whenever tournaments are not scheduled, and the French Tennis Federation operates its national museum of the sport, the Tenniseum, at the site.
- Horse racing — Some of the world’s best thoroughbred racing can be seen at two venues in the Bois de Boulogne. Hippodrome de Longchamp, used exclusively for flat racing, hosts many of France’s top races, including the internationally famous Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe during the first weekend of October. Hippodrome d’Auteuil is used exclusively for steeplechase racing, and hosts many top-quality races in that discipline.
- Concerts — The Parc des Princes used to be the most important stadium in Paris before the building of the Stade de France. The stadium is still used for matches, but it is mainly known for its concerts, as superstars including Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams and Iron Maiden have all played there.
Cafés & Restaurants
- Carette, 4 place du Trocadéro. This Pâtisserie and Salon de thé also has great food. The salads are amazing, and there are delicious cakes for dessert.
Café Brassac, 37 avenue Kléber. A very nice cafe for a tasty lunch ordinner. You may meet people there on business lunches. - Totem, 17 Place du Trocadero. Get a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower from this restaurant-tearoom opposite the Champ de Mars. Just next to the Musee de l’Homme, there certainly are worse spots to grab a drink or two.
- L’Astrance, 4 Rue Beethoven. In 2007, this restaurant was voted 21st best restaurant in the world by the British magazine “Restaurant”, and rated 3 stars (the highest award) by the Guide Michelin, the well-known reference guide for French restaurants. L’Astrance is very popular, so be prepared to book at least a month in advance . Splendid contemporary decoration, delicious cuisine from the Chef Pascal Barbot.
Property price per sqm in the 16th arrondissement of Paris
According to the website Notaires de France, the average price per square meter was €8,860 for the third quarter of 2011. It is currently the tenth most expensive district of Paris, after the 2nd arrondissement.
Population
There were 165 074 inhabitants in the district in 2008.
Useful information
Tourism office in Paris:
www.francetourism.com
Maps of Paris:
www.ign.fr
www.viamichelin.com
Travel from the UK
By air: Easyjet flies from Belfast, Liverpool Newcastle and London Luton to Paris.
Ryanair flies from Shannon, Dublin and Glasgow to Paris.
By rail: Eurostar go from London to Paris in just 2h35.
By car: You can travel by car to Paris by taking the ferries which go from Dover to Calais and then you can take the Motorway to Paris.
You can also cross the channel with the Eurostar and stop at Calais. Then you will travel on the motorway directly to Paris.