Paris – La Défense Apartments

For accessing La Défense from Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, follow these simple instructions:

• Take the RER B train from the airport to Chatelet Les Halles. The journey takes 35 minutes, with trains departing every 10 to 15 minutes between 5am and 12.30am. From Chatelet Les Halles, hop aboard the RER A line towards Saint-Germain-en-Laye and exit at La Défense (Grand Arche), which takes another ten minutes. The total travel time is approximately 45 minutes.

For accessing La Défense from Orly Airport, follow these simple instructions:

• From Orly Sud Station, take the metro to Antony (last stop), which takes less than 10 minutes. From here, board the RER B line towards Charles de Gaulle Airport and get off at Chatelet Les Halles. This takes another 25 minutes. Finally, switch to the RER A train and exit after 10 minutes at La Défense (Grand Arche). The total travel time is approximately 45 minutes.

For accessing La Défense from Gare du Nord Train Station, follow these simple instructions:

• Take the RER B train from Gare du Nord in the direction of Orsay-Ville and get off after just 3 minutes at Chatelet Les Halles. From here, board the RER A train towards Poissy and exit at La Défense (Grand Arche). The total travel time is approximately 15 minutes.

You can find detailed information on how to plan your journey at the excellent website, www.ratp.fr.

La Défense Tips for Food

The following food stores are available within walking distance of our La Défense apartments, allowing you to stock up on local and international produce. For a relaxed alternative to cooking in your self-catering apartment, head to one of the selected restaurants and let someone else do all the work.

La Défense Tips for Drinks

• Apoge, 21 Esplanade du General de Gaulle. A must for wine aficionados.

La Défense

Regarded as Europe’s largest purpose-built business area, La Défense can be found west of the capital’s historic core, occupying 560 hectares and boasting the majority of Paris’s tallest skyscrapers. This pulsating hive of activity was once a decaying region inhabited by small factories and dilapidated residences, transformed in the early 1960s by the first wave of erected office towers. The region currently houses an impressive 1,500 corporate headquarters, 15 of which belong to the world’s top 50 companies.

La Défense can be reached through the historical axis or Voie Triomphale, which extends from the central Place de la Concorde, stretches along the Champs Elysees, passes through the iconic Arc de Triomphe and culminates at the Grand Arche, which boldly welcomes visitors into the 21st century. This cutting-edge construct is one of many ultra-modern structures that saturate the vicinity, with the area considered one of the most prestigious environments for architectural design.

La Défense Highlights

Despite its lack of obvious attractions, La Défense receives approximately 8 million tourists per year, enticed undoubtedly by the quarter’s mesmerising urban landscape. The first building to catch the eye is of course La Grande Arche, a pioneering alternative to the historic Arc de Triomphe. Completed in 1989, this incredible landmark offers unique views across the capital from its grand staircase, which bustles with life during the warm summer months as employees take a break from the confines of the office.

Other interesting edifices within the neighbourhood include the very first development, the Centre for New Industries and Technologies (CNIT), and the Quatre Temps shopping mall, which caters to all your retail needs and hosts a variety of eateries, plus a multiplex cinema and a mammoth supermarket. An open air museum displaying over 60 sculptures comes highly recommended for fans of modern art, showcasing such esteemed talent as Joan Miro, Alexander Calder and Cesar. Public transport links are excellent, enabling swift and simple admission to all four corners of the city, making this a convenient spot for business travellers desiring a taste of the old Paris.

An area worth while exploring from one of our La Défense apartments!

La Défense Must Sees

• La Grande Arche, contemporary architecture at its best
• Quatre Temps, Paris’s largest shopping mall
• Open Air Museum, discover a scattering of modern masterpieces throughout the district
• CNIT, striking design and plenty of shops

Whilst staying in one of our La Défense apartments, all of these attractions and more are available within walking distance of your doorstep