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Paris's well-manicured western arrondissements, the 16e and 17e, are commonly referred to as the Beaux Quartiers . The 16e is aristocratic and rich, and the 17e - or at least the southern part of it - middleclass and rich, both embodying the conservative nineteenth-century values of the affluent. The northern half of the 16e, towards place Victor-Hugo and place de l'Etoile, is leafy and distinctly metropolitan in character. The southern part, around the old villages of Auteuil and Passy , has an almost provincial air, with its tight knot of streets and pockets of activity amid residential calm. It's a pleasant area to stroll around and has some interesting architecture, including buildings by Hector Guimard, designer of the swirly green Art Nouveau metro stations, and Le Corbusier and Mallet-Stevens, architects of the first "Cubist" buildings. One of the highlights of the area is the Musee Marmottan with its marvellous collection of late Monets. Just behind the museum lies the Bois de Boulogne , which runs all the way down the west side of the 16e. Further west, beyond the city limits, gleams the modern purpose-built commercial district of La Defense , dominated by the enormous Grande Arche .
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