Paris/4th arrondissement

The 4th is a good chunk of what used to be medieval Paris, and you'll find a lot left from that time on both islands and in the narrow streets of the lower Marais. Meanwhile there's lots that's contemporary to look at especially at the Centre Georges Pompidou where you'll find a lot of the very best contemporary art.

At night the 4th has several of the most active bar scenes most travellers will have ever seen, including the lower Marais district which is sometimes known as gay Paris although there are no shortage of bars catering to straight singles or a mixed crowd, or, in the early evening, families.

The 4th has the eastern end of the Axe historique, which extends westwards to La Défense.



Get in
The 4th is a central arrondissement, right between the Châtelet and Bastille areas, two of Paris' main transportation (metro, RER and bus) hubs.

By car
Being such a touristy district, it is very hard to find parking spaces. It's much easier to use the Metro.

By metro
Hôtel de Ville (La Defense/Chateau de Vincennes, and Chatelet/Mairie des Lilas respectively) - Access from near the junction of Rue de Renard and Rue de Rivoli.

Cité (Porte d'Orleans (General Leclerc)/Porte de Clignancourt) - Access off the Boulevard du Palais (infront of Palais de Justice on the Ile de Cité).

St. Paul (La Defense/Chateau de Vincennes) - Access off the Rue de Rivoli.

Rambuteau (Chatelet/Mairie des Lilas) - Access from near the junction of Rue de Renard and Rue Rambuteau.

Pt. Marie (Villejuif - Louis Aragon / Mairie d'Ivry/La Courneuve - 8 mai 1945) - Access from Quai de l'Hotel de Ville

Sully Morland (Villejuif - Louis Aragon / Mairie d'Ivry/La Courneuve - 8 mai 1945) - Access near the junction of Boulevard de Henri IV and Quai des Celestins.

By bus
Unlike the metro, buses can be a great way of moving around and seeing the city's landscape, although you risk being caught in traffic. The most useful lines are 70, 72 and 74, which stop at the Hôtel de Ville, and lines 75 and 76, which run through Rue de Rivoli.

The neighbouring Châtelet and Bastille stations are also served by the Noctilian (night bus), running from 00:30 to 05:30. Lines 33, 34 and 132 run between these two stations with no intermediate stops, but there are many others arriving and leaving from both to several destinations around town.

Get around
Walk, walk and walk! This arrondissement is compact enough to be explored on foot and that's probably just what you'll want to do anyway. Otherwise, the metro may be not be too useful for covering short distances, but you may still want to use the bus line 76 for the Châtelet-Bastille itinerary or line 67 for Châtelet - Île St. Louis, especially if you have a card for multiple trips or a Carte Orange.

The RATP network has bicycles (vélos) for rent next to the Bastille station:



Landmarks

 * [[Image:Paris_4th_hotel_de_ville.jpg|thumb|l'Hôtel de Ville]]





Museums and Galleries




Do
Most of the things to do in the 4th are covered in other sections of this guide, with the main thing to do being to explore. Of particular interest is the Île Saint Louis (complete with having an ice cream or sorbet from Berthillon), the Hôtels Particuliars, and the Pletzle particularly rue des Rosiers and the area around Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine.

Buy
Over the last decade, the rue des Francs-Bourgeois has become a shopping destination for clothes and accessories. Go during the July or January soldes (sales) and pick up some Anne-Fontaine outfits, Camper shoes, or trendy men's clothing at Melchoir at bargain basement prices.



Eat
For dinner or a sit-down lunch there are over a thousand restaurants in the 4th catering to all tastes - many more deserve to be listed than this or any other guide has space for. There are nice places, trendy or traditional throughout the district, but most of the really fancy bistros are clustered around the NW corner of Place de Bastille. You'll really enjoy walking around and checking out the menus, especially during the week when only the most exclusive places require a reservation. That said, here are some ideas:

Budget
If you are looking for a snack or a quick lunch you could do a lot worse than any one of the kosher falafel stands along the rue des Rosiers near Place des Vosges. If you are on the île de la Cité though, a closer choice is just to hop across the little pedestrian bridge to the île Saint-Louis for lunch at any one of the many charming cafés.



Ice cream
French ice cream is famous for its sorbet and there are excellent ice cream parlours to choose from:

Drink
In the 4th it's really hard to say whether a given place is somewhere to Eat or somewhere to Drink. Most of the places on this list serve dinner, and some serve lunch as well.



Sleep
There are tons of hotels, hostels, furnished apartments and guest houses in the 4th. Even still you should book ahead if possible as there is also tons of demand.