The 20th arrondissement of Paris (known in French as the XXe arrondissement de Paris or simply as "le vingtième") is the last of the consecutively numbered arrondissements of the capital city of France. Also known as Ménilmontant (pronounced [menilmɔ̃tɑ̃]) after the Ménilmontant neighbourhood it encompasses in its northwest, it is on the right bank of the River Seine and contains some of the city's most cosmopolitan districts. It covers four quarters: Belleville, Saint-Fargeau, Père-Lachaise and Charonne. In 2023, it had a population of 185,140.
The 20th arrondissement is internationally best known for its Père Lachaise Cemetery, the world's most-visited cemetery where one can find the tombs of a number of famous people, such as Édith Piaf, Jim Morrison and Eugène Delacroix.
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Geography
The land area of this arrondissement is 5.984 km2 (2.310 sq mi; 1,479 acres).
The arrondissement consists of four quarters:
Quartier Belleville (77)
Quartier Saint-Fargeau (78)
Quartier Père-Lachaise (79)
Quartier Charonne (80)
Demographics
The population of Paris's 20th arrondissement peaked in 1936, when it had 208,115 inhabitants. Today it remains very dense in population and business activity with 54,786 jobs as of the census in 1999.
Cityscape
Places of interest
Parc de Belleville
Père Lachaise CemeteryContaining the tombs of many famous artists: composers (such as Frédéric Chopin and Gioacchino Rossini), writers (including Oscar Wilde, Honoré de Balzac, and Marcel Proust), painters (Camille Pissarro, Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix, and others), musicians (Jim Morrison of The Doors and Edith Piaf among others), and the playwright Molière.
Church of Saint-Jean-Bosco, Paris. One of the few Art Deco churches in Paris, built 1933–1938. It retains its original Art Deco decoration.
Saint-Germain de Charonne, Paris. One of the oldest churches in Paris.
Notre-Dame-des-Otages, Paris. 1930s church with colourful stained glass
Monument aux Parisiens morts pendant la Première Guerre mondiale. A memorial commemorating the 94,415 Parisians who died in the line of duty during the First World War.
Important districts
Quarter of Belleville
Neighbourhood of Ménilmontant
Quarter of Charonne
Government and infrastructure
The Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) has its head office in the arrondissement.
Media
The humour publication Charlie Hebdo had its head office in the arrondissement.
Education
Senior high schools include:
Lycée Hélène Boucher
Lycée Maurice-Ravel
Lycée Charles-de-Gaulle
Lycée Beth Yacov
Lycée Heikhal Menahem Sinaï
Other institutions:
École Vitruve
École Eugène Reisz
Collège Jean Perrin