After the fall of Sedan in 1870, the Communard revolt in 1871 saw many historical buildings torched, among them the town hall. It burned for eight days, and all the archives as well as the many artistic treasures it contained were lost.

The architects Ballu and Deperthes proposed to rebuild it exactly as it had been, and the project was accepted. The “new” Hotel de Ville was inaugurated in 1882 - a XVI century building built in the XIX century. The esplanade in front of the Hotel de Ville is a regular venue for ice skating (it is flooded all winter) a huge Crèche for Christmas, sun-bathing on a real sand beach for the Paris-Plage event, plus various cultural or just plain fun events and concerts throughout the year (Fête de la Musique, world's soccer championship...), etc.

The area immediately around the Hotel de Ville is a shopper’s paradise with the Bazar de L’Hôtel de Ville (BHV) to the north on the Rue de Rivoli and many shops trailing off down this main artery toward the Louvre to the west and Bastille to the east.

Behind it the Place Saint-Gervais fronts the Church of the same name, right next to the French Carpenter’s Guild headquarters on the Rue de Brosse. There was also cemetery in what is now an underground parking lot over next to the police station. Visitors to the parking lot (accessible by elevator from the Rue de Rivoli) can look at a map describing the extent of the burial ground, which extends under the Rue de Rivoli under the Rue des Mauves Garcons (Bad Boy Street) and the cafés around the Place Baudoyer.

Farther west along the Rue de Rivoli, is the flamboyant Gothic Tour St Jacques, all that remains of a XVI century Church, a way station for pilgrims following the trail of Saint Jacques of Compostello, and destroyed in 1797. The statue of Blaise Pascal is in memorial of the renewal here of his barometric experiments initiated in Puy du Dome.

This quartier is a busy, commercial area, which fortunately is also close to one of the best parts of the Seine, easily reached by bus and Metro, and should be included in any extended walking tour of Paris.