PARIS 2ND ARRONDISSEMENT:
FOUR NEIGHBOURHOODS, FOUR WAYS TO DISCOVER PARIS
A Hotel in the Heart of the Capital
GAILLON, VIVIENNE, MAIL
AND BONNE-NOUVELLE:
A SHORT STROLL THROUGH PARIS’S SMALLEST ARRONDISSEMENT
Paris 2nd arrondissement may be the smallest in the city, but it certainly does not lack personality. Here, grand boulevards meet narrow streets, stately façades hide secret passages, and former trading houses sit alongside some of the city’s most contemporary addresses.
You may come for the Opéra, pause in front of a shop window, stumble upon a square you never knew existed, and eventually settle down at a café terrace. That is often how the best walks in Paris begin.
And to explore this little world, four neighbourhoods take centre stage: Gaillon, Vivienne, Mail and Bonne-Nouvelle.
4 names, 4 stories, 4 atmospheres… and countless little discoveries to make on foot from Hôtel Gramont. Follow us!
GAILLON : ELEGANT PARIS, WITH A LITTLE EDGE
FROM THE OPÉRA TO CHARACTERFUL SIDE STREETS
In the west of Paris 2nd arrondissement, Gaillon shows its elegant side. Rue de la Paix, handsome Haussmann-style buildings, broad avenues and prestigious addresses set the tone straight away.
But step away from the main streets and another side of the neighbourhood appears.
Place Gaillon, with its fountain and elegant façades, has the charm of those little Parisian corners you almost stumble upon by chance. Nearby, Passage Choiseul stretches beneath its glass roof, lined with shops, bookshops and memories of a time when covered passages were destinations in their own right.
Then there is Rue Sainte-Anne, now one of Paris’s great addresses for Japanese food. At lunchtime, ramen, donburi and Japanese pastry lovers know exactly where to go.
Between its beautiful buildings, theatres and restaurants, Gaillon definitely has more than one string to its bow.
Not to miss: Place Gaillon, Passage Choiseul, Rue Sainte-Anne and the streets around the Opéra.
Little Tokyo, Rue Sainte-Anne. Japanese and Korean restaurants, cafés, pastry shops and supermarkets in Paris.
Place Gaillon, where the fountain faces Drouant restaurant.
VIVIENNE: PASSAGES, STORIES AND A FEW TREASURES
PARIS’S BUSINESS DISTRICT ALSO HAS A TASTE FOR BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Welcome to the neighbourhood around Hôtel Gramont, where Opéra, the Bourse and the Grands Boulevards meet.
In the 19th century, Vivienne was one of the main centres of Parisian economic life. Banks, insurance companies, trading houses and stockbrokers settled around the Palais Brongniart, the former Paris Stock Exchange.
Today, stock trading has left the building, but the neighbourhood has kept its elegance and energy.
To enjoy it, head to Galerie Vivienne. Beneath its glass roof, floor mosaics, bookshops and elegant boutiques create the kind of setting where you naturally slow down. A few streets away, Galerie Colbert offers another architectural pause, with its magnificent rotunda.
Book and history lovers can continue to the Richelieu site of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. And those who prefer the performing arts will find plenty to enjoy around the Opéra-Comique and nearby theatres.
Vivienne is, in a way, the art of bringing serious business and the pleasures of life together.
Not to miss: Palais Brongniart, Galerie Vivienne, Galerie Colbert, BnF Richelieu and Place Boieldieu.
MAIL: BEAUTIFUL FABRICS AND STORIES TO MATCH
A NEIGHBOURHOOD WITH STYLE — AND NOT JUST IN ITS SHOP WINDOWS
The Mail district has a name that deserves a little explanation. Nothing to do with email: in the 17th century, mail referred to an outdoor game played with a ball and mallet. Rue du Mail was laid out on the site of a former playing ground.
Times have changed, but the street has kept a particular talent: an eye for beautiful things.
Today, it is one of Paris’s key addresses for furnishing fabrics and interior decoration. Behind the windows of textile houses, colours, patterns and materials are enough to make you want to redecorate your living room. Or simply stop and look.
A few steps away, Place des Petits-Pères has an almost village-like atmosphere, overlooked by the Basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. Its name comes from the Augustinian friars who settled here in the 17th century. A small square with a big history.
Then comes Place des Victoires, all curves and elegance. Designed in the 17th century in honour of Louis XIV, it is now lined with fashion boutiques around its famous equestrian statue. Times change; the sense of theatre remains.
Continue towards the Sentier and another local tradition comes into view: textiles, garment-making and trade. A working heritage that still inspires a new generation of designers and creators.
Not to miss: Rue du Mail, Place des Petits-Pères, the Basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Place des Victoires and the streets of the Sentier.
BONNE-NOUVELLE: PARIS ON THE MOVE, WITH STORIES TO TELL
BOULEVARDS, THEATRES AND QUITE A PAST
With a name like Bonne-Nouvelle — “Good News” — the neighbourhood already has a little something going for it.
In the east of Paris 2nd arrondissement, this area was long home to merchants, craftspeople and the textile trade. Its streets still bear traces of that history, with former commercial buildings, passages and converted workshops.
Passage du Caire, opened at the end of the 18th century, recalls the district’s trading past. Further on, the streets of the Sentier evoke the days when wholesalers, manufacturers and clothing businesses brought the area to life every day.
Bonne-Nouvelle is also part of the world of the Grands Boulevards, with its theatres, cafés and that very Parisian tradition of going out, having a laugh and making the evening last a little longer.
Around Rue Montorgueil, market stalls, food shops and café terraces can easily make you change your plans. You set out for a historical walk and somehow end up in front of a great plate of food. There are worse detours.
The neighbourhood has changed over the years, but it has kept that mix of commerce, creativity and conviviality that suits it so well.
Not to miss: Passage du Caire, the streets of the Sentier, Boulevard de Bonne-Nouvelle and the area around Rue Montorgueil.
FOUR DISTRICTS, AND A WHOLE SIDE OF PARIS TO DISCOVER
What makes Paris 2nd arrondissement so charming is perhaps its ability to change atmosphere in just a few streets.
Start with the elegant façades of Gaillon, wander through the galleries of Vivienne, admire the fabrics of Rue du Mail and finish on the Grands Boulevards, surrounded by theatres and café terraces.
No need to plan an expedition: Paris’s smallest arrondissement is best explored on foot.
And it has more than enough surprises to make you want to come back.
FROM HÔTEL GRAMONT, PARIS STARTS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
Located at 22 Rue de Gramont, our independent 4-star boutique hotel is an ideal starting point for exploring these four neighbourhoods. A walk, a favourite address, a museum, a show… and the pleasure of coming back to a warm and welcoming place in the heart of Paris.
So, where shall we start?
