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The 10th arrondissement is dominated by two of Paris’ six major train stations - the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l’Est. While the quarter’s residents do benefit from handy rail routes to every major European destination (and through the Channel Tunnel, a direct rail link to London), the have to deal with the same problems that affect any major rail district - the 10th can be loud, dusty and full of traffic.

The district around the Canal St Martin, however, has been coming up for years, and is now a very chic and fairly vibrant residential quarter. Stretching north from Place de la Republique in the eastern side of the district, a handful of local cafes and brasseries cater to a young, trendy, very urban crowd. Summer nights by the canal - the bars spilling out onto the waterside - are just one of Paris’ many small pleasures.

St Martin aside, the tenth arrondissement is a busy district that works hard for the city. Fingers crossed you’ll never need to visit it’s largest structure - the enormous St Louis hospital.