Neighbourhoods · 3 min read
The 2nd, the Upper Marais or Saint-Germain: Which Neighbourhood for Which Stay
Three neighbourhoods, three characters. A simple comparison, written by the people who host guests there every week, to choose according to the stay you are planning rather than a reputation.
Paris neighbourhoods are often compared the way hotels are: by prestige. We prefer another question. What are you coming to Paris to do, with whom, and what should your days look like? Our apartments are in three very different neighbourhoods; none is better than the others, each suits a certain kind of stay.
Three characters
The 2nd is a neighbourhood of covered passages and working streets, held between the Louvre, the Opéra and the Grands Boulevards. By day it belongs to those who work there; by night, to the tables of the Sentier and rue Montorgueil. It is the most central of the three.
The Upper Marais, in the 3rd, is a quarter of mansions turned museums, galleries at the back of courtyards and designer boutiques. You wander without a plan, and you find generous volumes, with three and four bedrooms.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in the 6th, is the Left Bank of cafés, bookshops and galleries, bordered by the Seine and the Luxembourg garden. Once you leave the boulevard, it is the calmest of the three.
At a glance
| The 2nd | The Upper Marais | Saint-Germain-des-Prés | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our streets | rue Vivienne, rue Sainte-Anne | rue du Temple | rue de Rennes |
| Atmosphere | central, lively, gourmand | creative, made for wandering | literary, gentle |
| Close by | Galerie Vivienne, Bourse, Opéra | Musée Picasso, Carnavalet, Enfants Rouges | Luxembourg, Saint-Sulpice, Café de Flore |
| Our apartments | two or three bedrooms | three or four bedrooms | three or four bedrooms |
| Ideal for | a first visit, a business stay | families, friends | couples, families |
For a first visit
The 2nd wins. The Louvre, the Palais-Royal, the Opéra and the department stores are all within walking distance; the Marais and the Seine are not far. You discover Paris through its great stages by day and come home at night to a lively neighbourhood, without crossing the city. Our guide on where to stay for a first visit explains this choice in detail.
For a family or a group of friends
Our four-bedroom apartments are in the Upper Marais and Saint-Germain: three and four bedrooms, up to eight guests, several bathrooms, tables made for dining together. The Marais has its museums and the Square du Temple; Saint-Germain, the Luxembourg garden, its ponds and its alleys.
For two
Saint-Germain-des-Prés has the gentleness it is known for: the cafés, the bookshops, the evening walk to the quays. The 2nd offers another kind of romance, that of covered passages in the rain and the Opéra at the end of the street.
For a business stay
The 2nd remains the most practical, between the Bourse, the Opéra and the Palais-Royal. But a team on a business trip will find more room on rue du Temple or rue de Rennes: a living room to meet in, a bedroom for each.
What does not change
Whatever the neighbourhood, the apartment is run the same way: air-conditioned, with an equipped kitchen, premium linen, a dedicated concierge seven days a week and a team you can reach at any hour. Only the setting changes; the care stays the same.
To go further, each neighbourhood has its page: the 2nd, the 3rd, the 6th.
The ACT 3 Team