THE SECOND ARRONDISSEMENT

Pedestrian-only shopping streets such as Rue Montorgueil. 19th century glass-roofed shopping passages. Finance and commerce—the Paris stock market and garment district. Culture—the Opéra Garnier, the Bibliothèque Nationale, and the Opéra Comique. All are near our one-bedroom apartment in Paris' second arrondissement.

I love my neighborhood

Passages like Galerie Vivienne (1823), Galerie Colbert (1826), Passage du Grand Cerf (1825), and Passage des Panoramas (1800) were originally designed to protect shoppers from bad weather and muddy streets. Now they are lined with small shops and cafes. Built in the 17th century by Mansart, the architect of Versailles, Place des Victoires is home to designer shops such as Kenzo and Thierry Mugler.

Historically, Stendhal, Liszt, Goya, Simón Bolivar, Zola, and Alexandre Dumas all lived in the second. Napoleon and Josephine were married at the Town Hall for the second. D'Artagnan of The Three Musketeers lived on rue Tiquetonne, one block from the apartment. Stohrer Pâtisserie was opened in 1730 on rue Montorgueil by Louis XV's pastry chef. Carrying on in the royal tradition, Queen Elizabeth visited Stohrer in 2004.

Parisians still prefer doing their food shopping at specialty stores such as boulangeries, pâtisseries, boucheries, chocolatiers, and fromageries. Rue Montorgueil has all of these plus restaurants and even a day spa. Rue Montorgueil is one of the last vestiges of the old Les Halles market.

Quartier Montorgueil article (PDF 108K): By Vivian Thomas; first appeared in Paris Notes (more about the excellent Paris Notes on our Resources page).