I want to know the best area to stay in Paris for siteseeing?

Show all answers

Rillifane

The 4th, 5th, or 6th arrondissements, all in the center of the city are what you want.

Paris is a compact city with excellent public transportation and daytime sightseeing is very convenient no matter where you stay in the city.

Its being out and about at night which is a bit more difficult because the trains and regular buses stop running a bit after midnight. that's quite a problem for a visitor given that most night time venues don't get going until 10 or 11 PM.

Staying in the center means you'll probably be able to walk home (assuming you can still stand upright).

By the way, don't waste your money on the Moulin Rouge. Its nothing more than a cheesy Las Vegas lounge act designed to sucker in middle aged tourists. Its also grossly expensive.

Why waste your time and money on that when you could be hitting places like this: http://www.paris-zoom.com/video/257/Georges-Cafe.html

Hugo Fitch

Naturellement, vous trouverez la zone de Pigalle pour le <<sightseeing>>! Alors!

Suk

I'd second Marais recommendation.
You will be close to major sights but also see the local side at places like Place des Vosges and Il St-Lous.

Azurea

go to the basilic of the SacrÃ©-Coeur in the 18th arr. of Paris by day and by night the sight is magnificent.

..Hannah..UK

If you want to see loads of landmarks in one journey, go to the port of les Bateaux Mouches. You go on a really nice boat and cruise slowly around the Seine, whilst someone talks to you about the history of different landmarks.
It's a bit pricey but reasonable considering you see half of Paris at once!

PS: Splash out a bit more if you want to go on one of the boats with a restaurant on it.

Stay near the Eiffel Tower. It's near the Line 6 which has many great hotels (cheap). It will also be a good area to hop on and visit other areas.
If you ride it into Chatelet you can take any metro to your next destination.
As far a night life, stay within Chatelet Les Halles and cross the street from the George P. building and you'll find many clubs and hang out for the night scene!
Good Luck! If you have more questions feel free to e-mail me!

Orla C

In any of the central parts, it is huge though .... learn how to use the metro and you'll be grand. That's the cheapest way to get around.

STPabroad

I'd recommend the 3rd through 7th Arrondisements. Look at the postal code of the hotel you are booking. If it starts with 75 and ends with 3-7 (i.e. 75007) you're golden.

These areas are the Marais, Latin Quarter or St Germain de Pres, all very lively areas of Paris.

You'll be close enough to any metro lines so that all the sights are within easy reach.

Mica

The most important thing to learn is the layout of Paris. It is in districts called Arrondissements which are numbered 1 through18 the 1st being closest to the big sites. Almost all of the main sights are along the Seine. We bought a bateaubus pass which is a pass for a boat that goes along the Seine "hop on hop off" concept and stayed in the Eiffel Tower 15e arromndissement and walked 10 minutes to the Seine and were able to see everything from there.

Daisy |FIDELITY|

well, i just came from paris,france & barcelona,spain in june. i reccomend seeing the eiffel tower @ night & going on the boat tour. it's worth it, it costs about 25 euros for both. i also saw moulin rouge, but i was not able to go inside. we went to the highest point in paris, and also we went to visit versailles (great palace) & we saw the lourve , many things we saw, but a lot of traffic, and a lot of walking. i reccomend staying somewhere near all the places you would like to see.

wendyvonfries

Hello from Paris

The best part of Paris to stay in my opinion is in the St. Germain/Latin Quarter. The boutique hotels in this area are absolutely fabulous and inexpensive by Parisian standards. I attach a few web links to the better properties in that area for your convenience.

http://www.hotel-bel-ami.com

http://www.my-paris-hotel.com/en/s03_hotels/s03p01_accueilhotel.php?id=5

http://www.hotels-paris.fr/en/hotel/Fr-Residence-Le-Regent.htm

http://www.hotels-paris.fr/en/hotel/Fr-Relais-Vieux-Paris.htm

If you take the metro to Odeon or St. Michel station (purple line 4) â€“ or hop in a taxi there are many small art galleries on the side streets of St. Germain Blvd, the main street running through the Latin Quarter. Bring a map and you will easily find, Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame, and Ile St. Louis. If you get tired of walking you can duck into the metro and take it one or two stops which links all the best sights.

ÃŽle Saint-Louis is famous for it's ice cream - Berthillon ice cream, of course! There isn't one restaurant on the island that doesn't serve some of their 33 flavors of ice cream and 30 flavors of sorbet.
ÃŽle Saint-Louis is probably one of the prettiest neighborhoods in Paris, with its elegant 17th century townhouses lining the quais next to the Seine. At just the right moment in the afternoon or early evening the sun hits the Quai de Bourbon and the Pont Marie and you're left breathless on the sidewalk. Stop a few meters further along on the Quai d'Anjou in front of the HÃ´tel de Lauzon and marvel at the gilded balconies.
You'll find charming gift shops and enough tempting restaurants to make your dinner decision a tough one! There are two wonderful bookstores in the neighborhood. The first is the Librairie Ulysses, entirely dedicated to travel books. While the storefront is nothing much, the breadth of the selection is impressive. The second, Librairie de Paris et son Patrimoine is on the opposite side of the street and has a wonderful collection of hard cover, art books about the rich history of Paris. Alas, not all are in French.

Whether it's specialty food shops that entice you to forget your diet (come on, how often do you eat foie gras at home?), fantastic views of the Seine, or the refined architecture ÃŽle Saint-Louis has everything you will want to see that is typically Parisian. So remember the essentials: Berthillon ice cream, the Pont Marie, and a walk around the quai at sunset.

This is a just a few ideas, I am an American living in Paris married to a French man, and we have a small business organizing corporate events as well as individual itineraries for all budgets. You are welcome to have a look at my intro page, www.preludetoparis.blogspot.com

If you need maps of the metro, advice on transportation or reservations support for shows and restaurants, please feel free to contact me at wendy@parisprelude.com

I genuinely enjoy creating itineraries for all budgets.

Enjoy!

Wendy

Kind regards, Wendy

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: