The Louvre, the Tuileries, the Palais-Royal and the western tip of the Île de la Cité — palaces, royal gardens and the masterpieces of a nation. This is the 1st arrondissement: the historic heart where Paris began.
A hand-picked selection of the 1st arrondissement’s best experiences — walk the galleries of the Louvre, stand beneath the stained glass of the Sainte-Chapelle, wander the arcades of the Palais-Royal or glide down the Seine from the Pont Neuf. Skip-the-line tickets, free cancellation on most options.
Timed entry to the world’s most visited museum — the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory under I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid.
A 2-hour expert-led walk through the masterpieces — skip the ticket line and follow the stories behind the Mona Lisa and the great galleries.
A combined ticket for two jewels of the medieval royal palace: the luminous Gothic chapel and the Revolutionary-era prison of Marie-Antoinette.
A guided stroll through the arcades and gardens of the Palais-Royal and the glass-roofed 19th-century passages — the most elegant hidden Paris.
No other district holds so much of France in so little space. From the palace of the Louvre to the gardens of the Tuileries and the arcades of the Palais-Royal, the 1st arrondissement is where kings ruled, where the Revolution turned and where the nation keeps its masterpieces.
A former royal palace turned the largest art museum on earth. Beneath the glass pyramid lie the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and 35,000 works spanning eight millennia.
Le Nôtre’s grand royal garden runs from the Louvre to the Concorde — gravel allées, fountains, sculptures by Maillol and Rodin, and the green chairs Parisians have lounged in for centuries.
Cardinal Richelieu’s palace and its hushed arcaded garden, home to the Comédie-Française and Daniel Buren’s striped columns — one of the most photographed courtyards in Paris.
The most aristocratic square in Paris, ringed by the Ritz and the grand jewellery houses — Cartier, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chaumet — around Napoleon’s bronze column.
A kilometre of Napoleonic arcades facing the Louvre, with Angelina’s tea house and, off to the north, the glass-roofed Galerie Véro-Dodat — covered shopping the way the 1830s invented it.
The old “belly of Paris”, now the Forum des Halles and the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, a domed rotunda restyled by Tadao Ando into a museum of contemporary art.
From three-Michelin-star dining rooms to the brasserie that has never closed its doors, the 1st arrondissement gathers some of the most storied tables in Paris. A few addresses worth the detour.
Chef Kei Kobayashi’s precise, poetic cooking — French haute cuisine through a Japanese lens, and the first restaurant in France led by a Japanese chef to win three stars.
The oldest grand restaurant in Paris (1784), under the arcades of the Palais-Royal — gilded Directoire salons, painted glass and two centuries of literary legend.
Jean-François Piège’s ode to the classic Parisian bistro near Les Halles — vol-au-vent, pâté en croûte and the namesake poule au pot, done to perfection.
The Les Halles institution that has served onion soup and shellfish around the clock since 1947 — the last echo of the great night-market of old Paris.
The Belle Époque tea house of 1903, famous for its thick “Africain” hot chocolate and the chestnut-cream Mont-Blanc — a Parisian ritual under painted ceilings.
A terrace under the Louvre’s Richelieu arcades looking straight onto the pyramid — the most cinematic spot in Paris for a coffee or a late supper.
The 1st arrondissement is a living museum of palaces, churches, gardens and the oldest stones in Paris. Here are the landmarks worth building your day around.
The former royal palace and the world’s most visited museum — from the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo to the Crown Jewels, beneath I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid.
A 13th-century royal chapel built for Christ’s Crown of Thorns, wrapped in fifteen soaring stained-glass windows — one of the supreme achievements of Gothic art.
The Gothic halls of the medieval royal palace, later the Revolution’s most feared prison — where Marie-Antoinette spent her final weeks before the guillotine.
The grand 17th-century royal garden between the Louvre and the Concorde — fountains, statues, a summer funfair and the city’s most famous green chairs.
Richelieu’s palace and its serene arcaded garden, home to the Comédie-Française and Daniel Buren’s black-and-white striped columns in the Cour d’Honneur.
Despite its name (“New Bridge”) the oldest standing bridge in Paris, leading to the leafy triangle of Place Dauphine on the tip of the Île de la Cité.
Explore every landmark, museum, garden and iconic table of the 1st on an interactive map. Filter by category, or click a place to locate it and open its links.
Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements that spiral outward clockwise from the centre, like a snail. The lower the number, the more central the district — and the 1st is number one: the very middle of Paris, on the Right Bank around the Louvre and the Tuileries, reaching across to the western tip of the Île de la Cité.
Everything here is walkable, but the Métro is the fastest way in and out: lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14 cross the arrondissement, and the giant Châtelet–Les Halles hub links the metro with RER A, B and D — one of the busiest interchanges in the world. Buses and the river Batobus complete the network above ground.
Since 2025 the system has been simplified: paper tickets are gone, replaced by the contactless Navigo Easy card or your phone. A single Métro/RER ticket now costs a flat fare regardless of distance, and a day pass quickly pays for itself if you ride often.
For door-to-door directions, the Bonjour RATP and Citymapper apps are the most reliable companions.
Central and exceptionally well connected, the 75001 is easy to reach by metro, RER or from either airport. Here are the essentials.
A few practical essentials to make your visit to the 1st arrondissement smooth and stress-free.
Spring (April–June) and early autumn (September–October) offer the mildest weather and golden light over the Tuileries and the Seine. December brings festive lights and ice rinks to the heart of the city.
Reserve timed tickets for the Louvre and the Sainte-Chapelle online to skip the long queues, especially in peak season and on weekends.
Cards are accepted almost everywhere. Service is included by law (service compris); rounding up or leaving a few euros for great service is appreciated but never expected.
Parisians dress smartly — a notch above casual goes a long way in the 1st. A simple "Bonjour" on entering shops and restaurants is the key to warm service.
The Louvre closes on Tuesdays and the Musée des Arts décoratifs on Mondays; many boutiques open late morning. Lunch is typically served 12–2:30 pm and dinner from 7:30 pm.
Tap water is safe and free in restaurants (une carafe d'eau). Emergency number is 112. Pharmacies (green cross) are plentiful and many speak English.
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Each Paris arrondissement has its own guide. Hover the map to reveal a district's name, then click to open its dedicated site — you are currently in the 1st.
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