This is where Brexit bankers are choosing to live in Paris

Paris is winning when it comes to Brexit. As bankers currently based in London balk at the prospect of flying out to Frankfurt, Paris has the merits of being both closer and more familiar. Bank of America is opening a new Paris office in 2019, which will house around 400 staff. Citi is looking for a new and bigger Paris office after deciding to locate some trading jobs in the French capital instead of Frankfurt.

But where will all the new French bankers live? Parisian estate agents are already able to pinpoint the hot spots: bankers returning from London, or moving to Paris anew, have around seven preferred areas of the French capital.

"For around the past six months, anything from 5% to 10% of the sales our agencies are making in the Marais and the VI, VII, IX and XIII arrondissements have been made to French people who are returning from London and to Europeans who are moving to Paris," says Richard Tzipine, managing director of French real estate agency Barnes, which provides an annual appraisal of the top end of the French property market. In the more family-oriented arrondissements, which also include XVI and XVII, Barnes says the proportion rises to up to 12%.

So, what can you expect for your money? And what does each region have to offer? The bad news for anyone moving out of London is that Paris is not cheap.

Le Marais

Spread across the third and fourth  arrondissements, the Marais is the historic aristocratic area of Paris. It's hip, it's trendy, it has Paris's oldest square (Place des Vosges). It's near the Seine. It's near the Centre Pompidou. It's Paris as you expect Paris to be - but it can be too busy and expensive for families.

Expect to pay €609k for a one bedroom flat, or €2.5m for three bedrooms. 

Luxembourg, VI arrondissement 

Also known as Luxembourg, the sixth arrondissement is situated on the trendy left bank of the River Seine and has a reputation for housing bohemian intellectuals. This doesn't appear to be discouraging incoming bankers, who are drawn by lure of living close to the Jardin to Luxembourg and sipping coffee in the shadow of John Paul Sartre.

Expect to pay €845k for a three bedroom apartment, or less than €200k for a tiny studio room (if you're an associate). 

Near the Eiffel Tower, VII arrondissement 

The VII arrondissement is where you live in Paris if you want to inhabit a tourism brochure and have plenty of money to spend. This arrondissement includes the Eiffel Tower. It also includes various museums (Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin) and the architecturally impressive Hôtel des Invalides (also now a museum.)

Expect to pay €1.6m for a two bedroom apartment, or €990k for one bedroom. 

Opera, IX arrondissement 

The ninth arrondissement is known as Opera. This is where you will find.... the French opera house and the original long straight Parisian avenue built by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann in the 1800s. Opera is a grand business district, which might appeal if you want to live somewhere grand, but may not be ideal for families.

Expect to pay €860k for a one bedroom apartment or nearly €2m for a rooftop apartment with three bedrooms. 

Chinatown, XIII arrondissement

If you move to the thirteenth arrondissement, you will have left the tourists behind. A former industrial district alongside the river, the XIII was previously known for its 1960s tower blocks and Chinatown district. More recently, however, it's experienced a renaissance thanks to its little ancient streets, floating nightclubs and artistic vibe. This is where the artists and intellectuals involved in the 1968 strikes hung out. Bankers with families like it because it's cheap - comparatively.

You can buy a three bedroom apartment near the town hall for €840k. 

Seizième, XVI arrondissement 

By the time you get to the sixteenth arrondissement you're back to big buildings and big money. The seizieme is where wealthy French residents have settled for generations. Apart from prestigious schools and the two campuses of the International School in Paris, this arrondissement boasts Paris's second largest park (the Bois de Boulogne) and various fine restaurants.

Bankers with particularly big budgets will buy apartments in Passy, where a three bedroom apartment with a view of the Arc du Triomphe could set you back €3.3m. 

Place de Clichy and around XVII arrondissement 

Once you leave the sixteenth arrondissement for the 17th, you're back to a more hip and less old-moneyed part of Paris. The arrondissement includes some of the (boring) Haussman buildings, but also houses Batignolles, an arty area which is popular with young families, and Epinettes, a former industrial region which has been gentrified and has plenty of homes built in the 1800s.

Expect to pay €420k for a one bedroom apartment in Batignolles or €150k for a tiny apartment in Epinettes. 

Bon voyage!

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