Where to stay in Paris
Paris is dense and well connected, so even outer districts are workable. Still, a hotel in the right quarter means more evenings strolling and less time underground. Hotel rooms in Paris are famously small, so check square metres before booking.
Le Marais (3rd and 4th)
The Marais is the most popular base for first-time visitors, and for good reason. Its seventeenth-century mansions (hôtels particuliers) house the Musée Picasso and the Carnavalet museum of Paris history, both free or inexpensive. The Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in the city, is here, and Rue des Rosiers is famous for falafel in the historic Jewish quarter. The Marais is also the centre of LGBTQ+ Paris. It is lively on weekends, when many shops open on Sundays.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter (5th and 6th)
On the Left Bank, Saint-Germain is classic literary Paris: Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, art galleries, chocolate shops and the Luxembourg Gardens. It is expensive but beautiful and central. The adjoining Latin Quarter, named for the Latin once spoken by Sorbonne students, is cheaper, with bookshops such as Shakespeare and Company, the Panthéon and the Roman-era Arènes de Lutèce. Both are perfect for walkers.
Louvre, Palais-Royal and Opéra (1st, 2nd and 9th)
If you want to be in the middle of everything, the 1st arrondissement places you near the Louvre, the Tuileries and the arcaded Rue de Rivoli. The 2nd hosts covered passages such as Galerie Vivienne and the food street of Rue Montorgueil. Around the Opéra Garnier and the Galeries Lafayette department store, the 9th has excellent transport links, including direct RER trains to Charles de Gaulle airport from Gare du Nord nearby. These areas are quieter at night than the Marais.
Montmartre (18th)
On its hill in the north, Montmartre still feels like a village, with cobbled lanes, a vineyard, the white domes of the Sacré-Cœur and the painters of Place du Tertre. It offers some of the best-value boutique hotels and great views. The lower part around Pigalle and boulevard de Clichy, home of the Moulin Rouge, is livelier and edgier. Note the steep streets and many steps.
Eiffel Tower and the 7th
The 7th arrondissement is elegant, calm and full of embassies and ministries. You get views of the tower, the Musée d'Orsay and Rodin Museum nearby and the market street of Rue Cler. It is a romantic but sleepy choice, with fewer late-night restaurants.
Canal Saint-Martin and Belleville (10th, 11th, 19th, 20th)
East Paris is where many young Parisians live and go out. Canal Saint-Martin's iron footbridges and tree-lined quays fill with picnickers on summer evenings. The 11th, around Rue Oberkampf and Rue de Charonne, has the city's best concentration of bistros and wine bars. Belleville is multicultural, with Chinese and North African food and street art, and the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont nearby. Prices are lower, but some streets around Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est feel rough at night.
Bastille and the 12th
Bastille, around the July Column and the modern opera house, has nightlife on Rue de Lappe, the Marché d'Aligre food market and the Coulée verte René-Dumont, an elevated park walkway on an old railway viaduct. It's well connected by metro lines 1, 5 and 8 and the RER to Gare de Lyon.
Booking advice
Paris charges a taxe de séjour per person per night, which rose significantly in 2024 to help fund public transport in the Île-de-France region; it scales with the hotel's star rating. Peak demand comes with Fashion Week (late February to early March and late September to early October), the Paris Air Show in odd-numbered years, the French Open in late May and early June and the period around Christmas. Many older buildings have tiny lifts. Air conditioning is not universal, which matters in July heatwaves.
Batignolles and the 17th
The Batignolles village in the 17th arrondissement has a small-town feel, with the Square des Batignolles, an organic market on Saturdays and the new Martin Luther King park. Metro line 14, extended in 2024, links it quickly to the centre and Orly airport.
Paris hotel tax
Paris charges a taxe de séjour per person per night that depends on the hotel's classification, plus regional surcharges. It is usually added at checkout, so check whether quoted prices include it.
Hotel rooms
Paris hotel rooms are often small, especially in older buildings in the centre, and lifts can be tiny. Check the room size in square metres when booking, and whether air conditioning is included for summer.
Summary
First visit: Le Marais or the 1st. Romance: Saint-Germain or the 7th. Budget and character: Montmartre or the 11th. Nightlife: Oberkampf, Pigalle or Bastille. Families: near the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th. Early trains or airport transfers: around Gare du Nord or Gare de Lyon.
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