Paris 13th arrondissement · BnF & Butte-aux-Cailles

Real estate in Paris 13th arrondissement

From the Bibliothèque nationale de France to the Butte-aux-Cailles, the 13th combines modernity and authenticity. Multicultural, academic and in full transformation — a many-faceted arrondissement for discerning investors. ZAC Rive Gauche and Chinatown: two distinctive value drivers.

Estimate my property Paris 13th Talk to an expert
8 633 €Price /sqm Q4 2025
181 271Inhabitants
11 302 €Top 10% (premium)
01

Butte-aux-Cailles & BnF

Between the picturesque village of the Butte-aux-Cailles and the great cultural institutions — Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris Cité — the 13th is the most contrasted and most captivating arrondissement in Paris.

02

A multicultural arrondissement in motion

Developing ZAC Rive Gauche, very strong university rental demand and districts in full gentrification: the 13th shows solid fundamentals. Its Chinatown and multicultural life make it one of the most dynamic arrondissements in southern Paris.

03

Liquidité internationale

The 13th arrondissement of Paris posts an average price of €8,510/sqm at the end of 2025, with annual growth of −0.2%. Average time to sell: 55 days.

Real estate market

Le 13th en chiffres

An ultra-exclusive market, structurally constrained and sustained by permanent international demand.

8 633 €/sqm
Median price 2025 (DVF)
11 302 €/sqm
Top 10% (premium)
−0,2 %
Evolution 2024 → 2025

Sources : Paris Notaires Services / Base BIEN (prix sqm T4 2025) · DRIHL 2025 (loyer encadré) · DVF DGFIP 2025 (volumes transactions)

Historical evolution

Prix au sqm since 1996

T1 1996 2 430 €
T4 2025 8 530 €
Sur 30 ans ×3,5

Indice Notaires-INSEE — moyenne trimestrielle standardisée appartements anciens · 120 trimestres · 1996-2025.

The 13th arrondissement posts a median price of €8,633/sqm in 2025 (DVF, DGFIP), ranging from 6,207 to €11,302/sqm across 1,497 transactions.

With an average price of €8,510/sqm, the 13th arrondissement has a clearly defined market profile. Buyers find a specific combination of heritage, quality of life and accessibility.

Energy performance

Dwellings DPE
du 13th arrondissement

71 441 energy diagnostics issued for apartments since July 2021. La classe DPE weighted average s'établit à D.

71 441
DPE issued
since July 2021
D
Average class
weighted average
66 %
Above E
46 938 dwellings (A to D)
11 %
Below E
7 645 dwellings (F-G)
DPE class distribution — apartments ADEME scale : from cold (A) to hot (G)
A0.2 % B1.2 % C34.4 % D29.9 % E23.6 % F7.1 % G3.6 %
← Low consumption High consumption / energy sieve →

Source: ADEME — DPE Dwellings existants (since July 2021) · filtre type_batiment=appartement, code_postal_ban=75013.

Go further — prices by street, by address and by quarter: Paris 13e arrondissement on data.metrorealty.fr.

History

From the Gobelins
to the Butte

The 13th arrondissement is the Paris of assumed contrasts: the working-class and revolutionary Butte-aux-Cailles sits alongside the most lively Chinatown in Europe, while Perrault's BnF and the universities of Paris Rive Gauche have transformed former warehouses into a major intellectual and cultural hub. Between the romantic Butte-aux-Cailles, the modern Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand quarter, the dynamic Place d'Italie and the largest Asian quarter in Europe, the 13th gathers in a single arrondissement faces of Paris that have nothing in common — a laboratory of contemporary urban planning where architecture and street art interact uniquely.

Manufacture des Gobelins — Paris 13th arrondissement
Quality of life

Cultural diversity
and street art

Life in the 13th offers a cultural and gastronomic diversity unrivalled in Paris. The Chinatown of avenues de Choisy and d'Ivry, with its Asian supermarkets, Cantonese restaurants and import shops, constitutes a sensory experience unique in Europe. The Butte-aux-Cailles, with its open-air bars, murals and cobbled streets, has the atmosphere of a bohemian and convivial village that residents fiercely defend.

The BnF François-Mitterrand and the Paris VII and XIII universities have transformed the Rive Gauche sector into a dynamic student and intellectual quarter, with a cultural offering (MK2 cinemas, galleries, performance venues) in constant expansion. Street art is omnipresent, with monumental works by Obey, C215 and Invader scattered through the streets, while one of the city's most beautiful Art Déco swimming pools sits at the heart of the Butte-aux-Cailles.

Butte-aux-Cailles — Paris 13th arrondissement
Did you know?

Trois anecdotes
du 13th arrondissement

— Anecdote 01

The Manufacture des Gobelins, founded in 1662 by Colbert to supply the furniture and tapestries of the Court of Versailles, is still operating in the 13th. Its craftsmen perpetuate high-warp weaving techniques unchanged since the 17th century, producing tapestries for national monuments and French embassies.

— Anecdote 02

Les Frigos, the former refrigerated warehouses of the Gare d'Austerlitz turned into artists' studios in the 1980s, were the model for every creative reinvention that followed in Paris. These 25,000 sqm of studios still house more than 200 artists and craft artisans today, after narrowly escaping demolition for a residential project.

— Anecdote 03

The 13th arrondissement hosts the oldest Chinese community in France, established as early as the 1920s around rue du Disque. The Vietnamese and Cambodian migration wave of the 1970s, following the fall of Saigon, transformed the quarter into a Chinatown of international scale.

Our view
What residents of the 13th quickly discover is the art of living on a different scale — broader, more diverse, freer. The Butte-aux-Cailles, with its half-timbered houses and cooperative bars, resembles an alternative village set on a hill above the great boulevards. The galleries of rue Louise Weiss and the murals of the quarter make it a permanent home of contemporary Parisian art, a stone's throw from the BnF and the universities of Paris Rive Gauche. Its residents are proud of an arrondissement that resembles no other and fully assumes it — a pride that METROREALTY shares and that market figures are beginning to reflect.
— METROREALTY · 22 ans d'expertise à Paris
Cartography

Les quatre
sous-quartiers du 13th

Each sector of the 13th has its identity, atmosphere and property typology. Click the map or cards to view their boundaries.

Interactive map Hover a district
Salpêtrière Gare Maison-Blanche Croulebarbe
District 01 Heritage

Salpêtrière

Salpêtrière, around the great historic hospital and the medical faculties, is the most institutional quarter of the 13th. Its early twentieth-century buildings, communal gardens and population of doctors and teachers make it calm and well served, halfway between central Paris and the working-class districts to the south.

District 02 Lively

Gare

Gare, around the Gare d'Austerlitz and the Paris Rive Gauche development, is the fastest-changing quarter of the 13th. Well-built new developments, the universities, the national library and the cultural venues have turned former railway wasteland into a mixed, dynamic district in twenty years. This is where the most contemporary and best-designed property in the arrondissement is found.

District 03 Secret

Maison-Blanche

Maison-Blanche, in the south of the arrondissement around place d'Italie, is the quietest and most family-minded residential quarter of the 13th. Its central position, good transport links and variety of shops make it popular with families looking for a quiet, well-served Paris.

District 04 Luxury

Croulebarbe

Croulebarbe, between the Butte-aux-Cailles and the Gobelins, is one of the most secret and picturesque quarters of the 13th. Its town houses, flower-filled cul-de-sacs and hidden villas recall a pre-Haussmann Paris that is still holding on. Property here is scarce and much sought after by those who want the genuine article.

Heritage

Lieux emblématiques

BnF François-Mitterrand

Bibliothèque nationale, 4 tours en L, livre ouvert architecture Perrault (1996).

Manufacture des Gobelins

Manufacture royale tapisserie since 1601, savoir-faire patrimonial.

Butte-aux-Cailles

A village within the city: low houses, cobbled lanes and neighbourhood bistros.

Quartier asiatique

Plus grande communauté asiatique d'Europe, restaurants et marchés.

Cité Florale

Ensemble urbain années 1920, maisonnettes aux noms de fleurs.

Rue Mouffetard / Place d'Italie

Place pivot du 13ᵉ, axe gourmand et tour Italie 13.

Seller guide

Selling in the 13th
at the best price

Everything you need to know to sell your property successfully in the 13th arrondissement.

8 130 — 8 910 €
Fourchette typique au sqm
8 910 €
Haut du marché (Butte-aux-Cailles, BnF François-Mitterrand)
−0,2 %
Annual evolution (Dec 2024 → Dec 2025)

Strengths that boost your property value

  • Adresse Butte-aux-Cailles
  • Quartier en pleine mutation
  • Métro multilignes Place d'Italie
  • Loft architecte ou maisonnette Cité Florale
  • Vue tours BnF

Frictions to anticipate

  • Tours années 1970 sans charme
  • Copropriété sans rénovation lourde
  • Bruit boulevard périphérique
  • Étage bas peu lumineux

Best-selling properties

  • Maisonnettes Cité Florale
  • Pieds-à-terre Butte-aux-Cailles
  • Plateaux modernes Olympiades
  • Familiaux Tolbiac/Glacière
7-step checklist

What to prepare before selling in the 13th

  1. An independent professional valuation: have the value confirmed by an expert who knows the building and the street.
  2. Mandatory diagnostics : DPE, amiante, plomb (immeubles avant 1949), électricité, gaz, mesurage Loi Carrez.
  3. The last 3 sets of AGM minutes for the building: transparency on approved works, service charges and disputes.
  4. The co-ownership rules and an up-to-date schedule of division.
  5. Home staging avant les visites : photos professionnelles, dépersonnalisation, mise en scène.
  6. An exclusive mandate is recommended: faster response, marketing leverage and access to our network of qualified buyers.
  7. Anticipate questions : charges mensuelles, fonds de travaux, projets de copropriété, vétusté ascenseur.
At a glance

Le 13th
en quelques traits

Buyer profiles, atmosphere and the property types in demand in the 13th arrondissement.

Ideal for

Multicultural family Rental investor First-time buyer

Atmosphere

Multicultural University Creative (street art)
Market tension: high

Most sought-after typologies

  • Family 3-room in Butte aux Cailles
  • 2-room student near BnF
  • New-build flat in ZAC Rive Gauche
Strategies & expertise METROREALTY

Investing in the 13th
with a trusted partner

Two model strategies suited to central Paris, backed by 22 years of expertise on the ground.

— Butte aux Cailles

The village within Paris

Butte aux Cailles is an exceptional micro-neighbourhood: cobbled streets, guinguettes, village atmosphere. Properties in this area sell very quickly and their value appreciation exceeds the 13th's average.

Target budget: €380,000 – €650,000
— University rental

The BnF student demand

The university concentration around Université Paris Cité and the BnF creates very strong rental demand for studios and 2-rooms. New-build flats in the ZAC Rive Gauche are valued for their comfort and energy performance.

Estimated gross yield: ~3.4%
Our expertise

22 years in the 13th arrondissement

METROREALTY has been guiding the most demanding transactions for 22 years in the 13th arrondissement. Our team knows every building, every staircase, every concierge. From negotiating an apartment at Butte-aux-Cailles to the sale of commercial premises at BnF François-Mitterrand, we defend your interests with discretion and expertise.

Our base at 18 rue Molière, 200 metres from the Palais-Royal, gives us unmatched on-the-ground knowledge of the buildings, of the legal particulars — listed buildings, easements, pre-emption rights — and of the international buyers who make this market.

Estimate my property Paris 13th
Frequently asked questions

Your questions about
le 13th arrondissement

The median price per sqm in the 13th arrondissement s'établit à 8 633 €/sqm en 2026 selon les données DVF DGFIP. La fourchette s'étend de 6 207 €/sqm (P10, entrée de gamme) à 11 302 €/sqm (P90, top 10 %), sur 1 497 transactions appartements enregistrées.

Over the past 12 months, prices changed by −0,2 % (Dec 2024 → Dec 2025). Over 5 years, the change is −9.6%, reflecting the Paris market correction after the 2020 peak. Premium areas (Butte-aux-Cailles, ZAC Rive Gauche) have held up better than average.

The 13th arrondissement market recorded 1 497 transactions in 2026 according to DVF DGFIP data. This volume reflects an active market with a diverse supply for various buyer profiles.

The 2025 DRIHL reference median rent is €26.0/sqm/month. The maximum permitted rent is €35.76/sqm, the minimum €20.86/sqm. The indicative gross yield is around 3,0 %.

The areas around Butte-aux-Cailles and BnF François-Mitterrand, as well as Place d'Italie are the most sought-after in the 13th arrondissement.

The ZAC Rive Gauche offers new-build flats slightly above the 13th's average, with significant advantages: favourable EPC, builder warranties, green spaces. The reduction in notary fees for new-build partly offsets the higher cost.

Selling, buying, investing

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