4th / IVe - Ile Saint Louis

The 4th arrondissement (4e arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, France. It is located on the Right Bank of the River Seine, bordered to the west by the 1st arrondissement; to the north by the 3rd, to the east by the 11th and 12th, and to the south by the Seine and the 5th.

The 4th arrondissement contains the Renaissance-era Paris City Hall. It also contains the Renaissance square of Place des Vosges, the overtly modern Pompidou Centre and the southern lively part of the medieval district of Le Marais, which today is known for being the gay district of Paris (while the northern more quiet part of Le Marais is contained inside the 3rd arrondissement). The eastern parts of the Île de la Cité (including Notre-Dame de Paris) as well as the Île Saint-Louis are also included within the 4th arrondissement.

With a land area of 1.601 km² (0.618 sq.miles, or 396 acres), the 4th arrondissement is the third smallest arrondissement in the city.

The peak of population of the 4th arrondissement actually occurred before 1861, though the arrondissement has existed in its current shape only since the re-organization of Paris in 1860. In 1999, the population was 30,675, while the arrondissement hosted 41,424 jobs.

The Île de la Cité has been inhabited since the 1st century BC, when it was occupied by the Parisii tribe of the Gauls. The Right Bank was first settled in the early Middle Ages. Since the end of the 19th century, le Marais has been populated by a significant Jewish population, the Rue des Rosiers being at the heart of its community, with a handful of kosher restaurants. Since the 1990s, gay culture has made an impact on the arrondissement, opening a number of bars and cafés in the area by the town hall.

Places of interest in the arrondissement

• Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville department store • Berthillon • Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal • Centre Georges Pompidou • Hôtel-Dieu hospital • Hôtel de Sens • Hôtel de Sully, on the site of a former orangery • Hôtel de Ville • Le Marais • Rue des Rosiers • Lycée Charlemagne • Notre-Dame de Paris • Prefecture of Police • Saint-Jacques Tower • St-Gervais-et-St-Protais Church • Former Temple, fortress and later prison • Temple du Marais