The area is famous for its sex oriented activity. There are many sex shops and prostitutes on the side streets. Allied soldiers of the World War II even called the area the “Pig Alley”. Besides the famous Moulin Rouge, here you can find the Divan du Monde.

Not far from Place Pigalle, to the south, there are many retailers of popular musical instruments.

The area is also famous for once hosting great names of Art, such as Toulouse Lautrec, whose studio used to be there, Pablo Picasso, Maurice Neumont or Vincent van Gogh. There is also Espace Dali where you can admire some of Dali’s works.

The building of Grand Guignol Theater is still there, although the theater itself was closed in 1962.

If you want to live the experience of the night time Paris, Pigalle is the place to go. You can spend the time in one of the cabarets, of which the most famous is Moulin Rouge or attend a nude show.

To get to Pigalle you can take the Montmartrobus to its end or just take the metro until Pigalle station and you’ll get to Place Pigalle.

Because the area was officially designated as historic district, there are laws to protect it from developments which may threat the historic character.

To go on top of the hill you can either climb the stairs or take the Funiculaire de Montmartre.

At the base of the hill spreads Pigalle, Paris’ red-light district. Besides the sex oriented character of the district, it is also the place for music instruments shops, many specialized in rock music. Rock concerts take place in several concert halls in the area.

In ÃŽle de France there is a tradition of producing wine, which is continued even today. This is why you will see in Rue saint Vincent a small vineyard which gives a yearly amount of 500 liters of wine.

French proudly say about their Champs- Élysées that is the most beautiful in the world. Still, the recent globalization and the international chain brands that invaded the boulevard somehow took away of its uniqueness. As an effort to keep the spirit of the boulevard, the City of Paris banned in 2007 the H&M retailer to open a store here. It was called the movement against “banalisation”. Still, one year later another clothing chain, American this time, the Abercrombie & Fitch, opened their new store.

Champs- Élysées passes through the 8^th arrondissement of Paris and is 2 kilometers long. It extends from Place de la Concorde with the Luxor Obelisk to the Charles de Gaulle Square, with the Arc de Triomphe, from East to West. The boulevard is part of the historic Axe.

At the lower end of the boulevard are the Marigny Theater and the Grand Palais, bordered by Carre Marigny, a splendid greenery. This part is the most attractive for tourists coming to Paris. Aside the avenue is the Élysée Palace. Going ahead on the avenue, there are cafes, cinemas and the famous Fouquet restaurant among other noticeable restaurants. At he other end of Champs- Élysées is the no less famous Arc de Triomphe from Napoleon Bonaparte’s rule to remind of his victories.

Though very few buildings actually date from the Middle Ages, this warren of narrow streets and picturesque squares is layered with a rich history, which is apparent in the pleasing hodgepodge of architectural styles. The neighborhood’s glory days date from the 16th and 17th centuries when anyone  who was anyone simply had to build a mansion or a palace here. Though the area fell from grace in the 18th and 19th, many of the grand hôtels particuliers (private mansions) survived the slings and arrows of time and were reborn as museums and public archives when the neighborhood was restored in the later half of the 20th century.

Today, the Marais is a fascinating mix of hip gentrification and the remnants of a working class neighborhood. It is at once the center of the city’s gay life, as well as the oldest Jewish quarter, with a heavily traditionalist bent. Some of the city’s best museums are here, and the best boutiques for browsing, so depending on your interests, you could spend a few hours or an entire day here.