Rive Droite
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La Rive Droite (the right bank) is most associated with the Seine in central Paris. Here the river flows roughly westwards, cutting the city into two halves: the Right Bank to the north and the Left Bank to the south.
Due to its association with places such as Place Vendôme, the Right Bank can now be used to refer to a level of elegance and sophistication not found in the more bohemian Left Bank. The Right Bank's most famous street is undeniably the Champs-Élysées, but there are others of prominence, such as Rue de la Paix, Rue de Rivoli, and Avenue Montaigne. If the Left Bank used to be more carefree in the past, soaring rents in recent decades have been driving away students, artists and marginal populations, while bookstores and popular bistros were being replaced by luxury boutiques and sushi restaurants . The Right bank is more contrasted. Very affluent neighborhoods in the west of the Right Bank (8th, 16th and the south of the 17th arrondissement) are balanced by the utterly popular and immigrant 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements in the north-eastern part of the capital. The main distinction, instead of luxury vs bohemia, would be more between a hectic, functional, commercial and densely populated Right bank, where lies the heart of the modern city, between Gare du Nord and Chatelet, and a more quiet, historic and greener left Bank. Whereas most of the top companies and banks are located on the Right Bank, one finds more institutions on the Left Bank : universities, ministries, hospitals and the like.
