What are good neighborhoods (arrondissments) to stay at in Paris?
I plan to stay a few days in Paris and I’m searching for a hotel right now… Which neighborhood (arrondissment) would you recommend? I need it to be safe at night and in or near the center of the city?
Thank you.
Hello,
Here are my suggestions:
8th arrondissement:
This upscale neighborhood is in fact quite diverse. The area around Champs Elysèe, has lots of shopping and lots of tourists, while in the area to the East, between the Champs Elysee and Place de la Madeleine you will find a mixture of 19th century buildings intermingled with businesses. This area is in someways similar to parts of the 16th, but is generally less pretentious.
6ème arrondissement
St. Germain. Once the hangout for bohemians and intellectuals, this neighborhood has undergone gentrification and is now newly chic. Upscale boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants can be found throughout this district.
5eme arrondissement
The fabled Latin Quarter. This neighborhood takes its name from the Sorbonne, where Latin was the common tongue for all students during the Middle Ages. The neighborhood has the feel of a small village and students mix freely with professionals in its winding streets. The rue Mouffetard is a primary artery where shops, international restaurants and student bars and cafés are found.
1er arrondissement
This is the geographical center of Paris and a haven for tourists. The Louvre, Les Halles and the Palais Royal are all here.
7eme arrondissement
The Eiffel Tower, the Musée d’Orsay and lots of international residents can be found in this very wealthy neighborhood.
17eme arrondissement
his diverse district really contains more than one neighborhood, with the portion, in the west, near the Arc de Triomph and Parc Monceau, being very upscale.
18eme arrondissement
Montmartre. This artsy residential neighborhood has a small village feel and lots of tourists.
Enjoy your stay in Paris!!!!
For a tourist the 4th, 5th and 6th arrondissements are the best choice for a place to stay. The 4th (the Marias) is on the Right Bank (north side) of the Seine and the 5th (Latin Quarter) and 6th (St. Germain) are on the Left Bank.
All of these border the Seine and, generally speaking, the closer you are to the river the more convenient the location will be.
There is also some difference of opinion about what should be considered the "center" of the city. In my opinion this is defined as Notre Dame on the Ile de la Cite in the middle of the Seine. This is certainly the historic city center and the so called "zero marker" from which all distances in France are measured is in front of Notre Dame which lends the argument further weight.
Further, Paris is a fairly compact city with an excellent public transport system so some may feel that its not that important to stay in very center of the city. My own opinion is that the closer to the center the better and so would never recommend any of the outer arrondissements.
As to safety, Paris is generally a very safe city with almost no violent crime in the city center. Violent crime is largely confined, to the extent it exists, to the banlieues (suburbs) where government built housing blocks warehouse the non-white immigrant population.
If you want to stay in Paris then you can do hotel booking from this site——–http://www.stayresfrance.com/paris_hotel.html
XXth XII th XIVth are districts which people never quote, but depending your budget you could choose those arrondissements, in which completely renewed and affordable hotels are now accessible –
Kyriad is one of the new generations of nice budget hotels in Paris –
The strategic point in your choice is how far the next Metro station – and some locations, very few in fact, can be far -
Most of hotels in the Rivoli area, next to Louvre, along the Seine offer first prices at 250$ – Make your choice
the latin quarter near notre dame is nice i stayed there in june lots of bars and restuarants with easy access to attractions
The 8th is my favourite one forever. There’s everything there!
I stayed in St. Germain and it is just down the street from the L’Odeon Metro. Convenient, nice shopping, restaurants and the hotel was fabulous.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/lodeon.en.html
The staff was very helpful, courteous and the room was wonderful!