Wander down Le Marais’ warren of cobbled streets and you’ll stumble across new restaurants-of-the-moment, emerging indie boutiques, hidden bars, and patisseries with mounds of macarons and flaky pastries. That’s the thing about Le Marais: behind the timbered medieval buildings and the crumbly walls of Renaissance dwellings, there are waves of development keeping things current and cool. Plus, you’ll also be close to the Notre Dame, the Louvre and streets fringing the Seine.

Crowned with the white shining beacon of the Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre might just be Paris’ prettiest neighbourhood. Walk all the way up to this iconic basilica to gaze across the jumble of rooftops below, staggering slowly back down along its fairy-tale-like streets, smothered in vines of ivy and wisteria. Dip into the literary museum of Musee de la Vie Romantique surrounded by rose bushes and don’t miss a sequinned-filled night at the Moulin Rouge.

The Rive Gauche (Left Bank) sitting south of the river has long been an epicentre for the alternative and rebellious. And this lively quarter, once filled with crumbly artist’s studios and beatnik cafes, and named after the Latin-speaking students who settled here, is the academic hub of city. Go here to stand in the shadow of the regal Pantheon, wander through the 24-hectare-botanical garden

Paris’ multicultural heart will surprise you. A former working-class neighbourhood with a staunchly rebellious spirit, it has seen ripples of gentrification sweep across its corners. And while its street art, lovely views and cafes are worth checking out, it’s the burgeoning food scene, pioneered by its community of immigrants that’s proving irresistible to travellers seeking something away from the tourist trail.