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S
ituated on the right
bank of the river Seine,
the 8th is the business
and diplomatic centre
of Paris and home to
around 40,000 Parisians,
including me. I live here with my
French wife and two teenage
boys, and my background in the
construction industry means that
I can fully appreciate the beautiful
architecture on offer. Of course, the
8th boasts famous landmarks such
as the Palais de l'Élysée, Place de la
Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe
(well, one side of it anyway), but it
is the hidden gems that I appreciate
the most.
The property market in Paris
has been red-hot for a while, and
my days are pretty full, looking for a
new property to take on. We have
clients from Paris, London and much
further afi eld looking to buy, and
this demand looks set to continue
Canadian Aaron Wagner is one of our agents in
Paris, and he is a passionate advocate for the 8th
arrondissement and its hidden gems.
throughout 2020. If I get a spare fi ve
minutes during the day though, I will
often head to the Parc Monceau,
right on the northern border of
the arrondissement. It was built in
1778 as a private garden for the
Duke of Orléans, and it is a haven
of tranquility - don't tell too many
people about it, please!
Given my North American roots,
it also makes me smile to walk past
the Flame of Liberty at Pont d'Alma.
Covered in gold leaf, it's a full-sized
replica of the real thing on the statue
in New York - it's also become
an unoffi cial memorial for Diana,
Princess of Wales, so a great place
for people-watching.
There are 23,885 residential
properties in the 8th, of which
full-time residents occupy around
three quarters, and the rest are
holiday homes. As I said earlier, these
properties are in high demand. The
average price of an apartment here
PARIS &THE ÎLE-DE-FRANCE
Historical cafe on the
Ile Saint Louis
Flame of Liberty
Place de la Concorde