The 15th is basically a huge dorm filled with bourgeois gentilshommes and dames and their excruciatingly bored children. Not really worth the detour unless you’re an obsessive tourist who absolutely wants to set foot in ALL arrondissements. If you DO find yourself over here, the main draw is the triangle area formed inside the Cambronne/Felix Faure/La Motte-Picquet Grenelle métro stations, with Rue du Commerce as its main drag. Since the streets immediately surrounding the Eiffel Tower (in the neighboring 7th) are filled with tourist traps where too many waiters and shop owners still enjoy being as nasty as possible to all foreign visitors, we recommend heading straight west to Commerce for a more dignified dining and shopping experience. Tourists flock by the millions to the Eiffel Tower for the best city views, but how about a view WITH the Eiffel Tower in it? Head to the top floor of Tour Montparnasse, that tall, black eyesore dominating the 15th, and you’ll be able to see every gorgeous monument in the city without a black monolith to ruin your Paris-ing selfies.
Beaugrenelle
Skip the residential towers and head straight to Parc André Citroën, with its moored hot-air balloon that offers city views and lots of ‘chill-out’ lawn space. Propped in the middle of the Seine is the Statue of Liberty, a replica of the one gifted to the U.S.
Commerce
This area, especially Rue du Commerce, is great for shopping and dining in an otherwise residential and uneventful arrondissement. Quaint parks are scattered throughout for a leisurely afternoon away from the crowds.
Montparnasse
This quarter, straddling the 6th and 14th arrondissements, is a continuation of the commercial mix of shopping, movie theaters, crêperies and bistros found by Tour Montparnasse. If the price to basically ride an elevator (38 seconds to be exact) and access a terrace doesn’t turn you off, go ahead and get that unobstructed panoramic view (Eiffel Tower included!) for that *chef’s kiss* of a photo. You’ll be the envy of Instagram. Also check out the nearby Musée Bourdelle showcasing sculptures by Antoine Bourdelle, one of the most successful of Rodin’s students.
