Nice place to stay in Paris this spring

January 8, 2024 9:18 AM

My daughter and I are planning a trip to Paris in late March. I'd like some advice on where to stay.

I have been to Paris once before, but so long ago that it's not relevant. We're both experienced travelers, and can get around cities. We are going to see the Rothko Exhibit at the Foundation Louis Vuitton, but don't necessarily need to stay nearby, as we will likely be interested in many of the common touristy things to to in Paris in spring.
What i'd like is a recommendation for a nice area to be in. Walkable to restaurants, cafes, patisseries and parks, but not necessarily shopping. Perhaps an area that affords lovely views.
Any additional advice would be very much appreciated, thanks.

posted by OHenryPacey to Travel & Transportation around Paris, France (12 answers total)

A few years ago I stayed at the Hotel Villa d'Estrees, which is close to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, St Germain de Pres (with its lovely outdoor markets), within walking distance of the Marais and near several Metro stations as well as the river to pick up the Bato Boat. There are loads of restaurants around, including one of the oldest restaurants in Paris. It was a lovely hotel and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.
posted by essexjan at 10:49 AM on January 8

We just got back from a week in Paris. We stayed in an AirBnB in the 6th, and it was great: we could walk to restaurants, and both the Rennes and the Saint Placide Metro stations were just a few doors away, giving access to two different subway lines.

Within ten minutes walk were Luxembourg Gardens, Saint Germain des Pres, other smaller plazas & parks, and the big Montparnasse tower (with all the Metro lines that cross there). And rue Odessa was a few streets away, with a cluster of crepe restaurants -- which was a hit with our teen daughter!

I have visited the city twice before (also in The Before Days), and this turned out to be a really great location.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:54 AM on January 8

This is like 10 years ago, but we stayed at Hotel Crayon and it was great. We walked from there to the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Centre Pompidou, Jardin des Tuileries, the Rodin museum, the opera house... We walked A LOT. You could also throw a rock and hit any number of restaurants and cafes. We did take the metro twice to get to Pigalle and the catacombs. It was very easy, and stations were nearby and numerous. Night walks were a treat, since the Louvre looks great lit up, as does the Seine. It was also super easy to get there from the airport. There was direct metro line to Les Halles and we only had to drag out luggage a few blocks.
posted by mrphancy at 11:06 AM on January 8

We're fans of the small and charming Hotel de Buci, which is in Saint Germain. Very walkable in terms of Paris street life, good access to transportation, friendly staff. One of the key sense memories of my entire life is being in a street-facing room there, hearing jazz wafting up from a venue down the street.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:11 AM on January 8 [1 favorite]

We arrived on Wednesday and stayed until the next Thursday; we had a Metro pass for the first few days but not the latter days.

Having a Metro pass encourages you to just hop on and ride a few stops -- so you go more places and see more things. Great!

But not having a pass encourages you to walk from place to place -- and you realize how compact central Paris is, and you get to see the "in between" parts. Also great!
posted by wenestvedt at 11:22 AM on January 8

Best answer: I am a fan the Esprit de France group of hotels, link here. They have several in Paris. I have stayed in the Hotel Brighton across the street from the Tuilleries Garden and the Hotel d'Orsay, a block from the Musee d'Orsay. My sister has stayed in the Hotel du Parc San-Severin in the Latin Quarter.

Hotel Brighton has lovely views of the Tuilleries Garden, if you spring for a park view room. It is very close to the Louvre and the Palais Royale. If I recall correctly it is less than a 10 block walk to the Opera Garnier and the Galeries Lafayette and several of the covered walkways such as Galerie Vivienne.

Hotel d'Orsay is very close to the Seine and of course, the Musee d'Orsay and is 5 or 6 blocks from the Louvre.

Hotel du Parc Saint-Severin is in the Latin Quarter and close to Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Company, the Sorbonne, the Luxembourg gardens and Arenes de Lutece.

All of these places have very nice rooms (though of course very small by American standards) and extremely helpful staff.

None of these is close to the Louis Vuitton Foundation, though. As long as the Metro is not on strike, it will be easy to get around. You may want to download the Bonjour RATP app (the official French rail transport agency) which allows you to select English language and I found invaluable for getting around. Google Maps is also great, just be sure to select the icon for trains and not for cars.

Bon Voyage!

Hotel d'Orsay
posted by statusquoante at 1:19 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

Citymapper is another app for public transport, I use it more than Bonjour RATP.

Can’t recommend a hotel sorry, but just wanted to advise that the Fondation Louis Vuitton has airport level security to get in, and doesn’t allow outside drinks, nor takeaway drinks from the cafes. Doable but good to know beforehand. Hope you have a great trip!
posted by ellieBOA at 6:38 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]

Best answer: +1 on Montparnasse, and Rue Odessa with all those crèpe restaurants. And the nearby Rue Édouard Quimet is full of restaurants frequented by locals. And if you have access to a kitchen, Rue Daguerre is a few blocks south along Maine, a foodie paradise with bakeries, fromageries, vianderies, and épiceries specializing in fresh produce.

The only drawback with the area is that I learned that Paris has two kinds of metro lines -- the ones that go to where you want to go, and the others, and we always had a long walk or a connection to get to the good metro lines (from the point of view of doing tourist things).

Another advantage of staying near the tower: no matter where you are in the city, at night it's easy to figure if you're walking distance or not.
posted by morspin at 10:32 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Last summer my SO and I stayed in the 15th, near the Convention stop. The view of the street upon exiting the Métro was quintessentially Paris; we loved it! The area around Rue de Vaugirard is lively with countless restaurants and bars and shopping options but also relatively quiet and chilled out. And compared to public transport where we’re from, that half an hour on the Métro to Montmartre or whatever seems like a breeze. When we return we’ll definitely stay there again.
posted by macdara at 2:19 AM on January 9

Best answer: In spring 2019, I stayed at the basic but perfectly clean and very friendly Hôtel des Pyrénées, near Pyrénées metro on line 11, in the 19th arrondissement, which I found to be a lovely local-feeling (and hilly!) neighborhood full of cafés and with superb views over the city from the nearby Parc de Belleville. There seemed to be a lot of more budget-friendly hotels up that way and line 11 goes right to Châtelet. I seem to remember the Navigo weekly ticket being an excellent deal as well; I was there for six days and it made sense for me; if your trip is shorter you may find it doesn’t pay off.
posted by mdonley at 7:26 AM on January 9

We just came back from a trip with two adults and two children and I cannot speak more highly about the AirBnB we found. On the Isle de la Cite (which in an of itself is such a treat) smack in the middle of everything and extremely comfortable and clean and very responsible responsive host) I can list the details of what we liked, there is no question that I would go back and we are very picky travelers. Here is the link, but please feel free to ask any questions. Paris AirBnB
posted by silsurf at 8:20 AM on January 9

On the Isle de la Cite

A very fancy neighbourhood! If you’re looking at apartments too, in addition to AirBnB, there are many on booking.com.
posted by ellieBOA at 10:25 AM on January 9