Paris’ 13th Arrondissement- Home to Paris’s largest Asian Population and a solid Urban District off the beaten path of most tourists

Paris 13th Arrondissement I sense is one of the least traveled by tourists in the City. Yet this is a very solid urban district which would blow almost any American neighborhood away measured by urbanists metrics. The Arrondissement also has several interesting sub neighborhoods including Le Quartier Asiatique along Avenue d’Ivry and  Avenue de Choisy, Butte-aux-Caillesa (a wonderful mixed-use district with mostly narrow streets), several more intimate village like streets along Quartiers des Peupliers, La Cite Fleurie, and Cite Florale and the modern district of Paris Rive Gauche.

Thanks to the Quartier Asiatique the 13th arrondissement is one of the few Paris neighborhoods that is still growing in population. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the first wave of Vietnamese refugees from the Vietnam War settled in the district. This eventually diversified to include Vietnamese immigrants with Chinese descent and immigrants from Laos and Cambodia. In the present day the district as a strong Chinatown feel as most of the original Vietnamese immigrants have assimilated across Paris (while still maintaining a large business presence). The 13th arrondissement is also growing as a major Parisian job center thanks to the completely new Paris Rive Gauche District which runs along the Seine. The heart of the district is truly The Place d’Italie where many major Parisian Boulevards converge and the district serves as a major nightlife and shopping district. It takes its name from its proximity to the Avenue d’Italie, which, traditionally, has been the point of departure on the road that links Paris and Italy.

Click here to view my 13th Arrondissment Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Several great biz districts like the Av. de France (part of a modern Paris Rive Gauche district), Bd Vincent Auriol with its elevated subway line running down the middle, Ave d’Ivry, Av. de Choisy, Rue de Tolbiac,  Avenue des Gobelins, and Blvd Arago/St. Marcel. Also plenty of mixed-use areas as well even where the streets are primarily residential.
* Lots of smaller and medium parks. Only a handful of larger more formidable parks (i.e. Parc Kellerman and Parc de Choisy). Also really solid waterfront parks and plazas along the Seine on the Port de la Gare.
* More modern styles of architecture than your average Parisian district, esp. when you include Paris Rive Gauche, which is a textbook on how to build a new urban district. Lots of modern high rises in the Chinatown district as well.
* Solid tree canopy.
* One of the least touristy Paris Districts.
* Much more affordable/accessible neighborhood than the right bank districts.
* Solid density at 66K residents per square mile.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• Great metro access like all Paris neighborhoods but subway coverage is a bit limited in the southwestern quadrant of the district. Same goes for bike infrastructure coverage.
• Compared to most Parisian districts, esp. the right bank, the historical architecture here is a bit sub par. Still plenty of Haussman style apartments and pockets of intimate village like rowhouses.
• Only a handful of museums which is very limited compared to the rest of Paris.
• This also has an effect on the district’s lack of landmarks where I would really only include The François-Mitterrand Library, Manufacture des Gobelins, the 13th arrondissement townhall”