Where to Stay in Paris: Three Neighbourhoods, Three Ways to Live the City

In Paris, choosing a neighbourhood matters more than choosing a hotel. It decides the morning coffee, the evening walk, the distance between you and what you came to see. We did not try to be everywhere. Our apartments are in three neighbourhoods we know street by street, chosen for the same reason: you can live Paris on foot, day to day, without ever feeling you are on a set.

What makes a good neighbourhood to stay in

Before the names, a few simple criteria. A good neighbourhood is walkable and lets you reach the city's great places without living on top of them. It has a life of its own: shops, markets, tables where Parisians have lunch. And it stays calm at night, once the door is closed.

The three neighbourhoods below meet these criteria, each in its own way.

The 2nd, the centre on a human scale

The smallest arrondissement in Paris sits between the Louvre, the Opéra and the Grands Boulevards. You live in a Paris of covered passages, from the Galerie Vivienne to the Passage des Panoramas, of working streets by day and full tables at night. Rue Montorgueil serves as the market; rue Sainte-Anne is home to the Japanese quarter; the Opéra is at the end of the street.

This is the choice for those who want to be at the centre of everything, and walk home from anywhere. Our apartments are on rue Vivienne and rue Sainte-Anne. Read our guide to the 2nd.

The Upper Marais, museums and makers

North of the Marais, the 3rd is a quarter of mansions turned museums (Picasso, Carnavalet, Arts et Métiers), galleries at the back of courtyards and designer boutiques. The Marché des Enfants Rouges serves lunch, the Square du Temple offers a neighbourhood garden.

This is the choice for those who like to wander without a plan, and for families or friends travelling together: our two apartments on rue du Temple have three and four bedrooms.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Left Bank

The 6th holds the Left Bank between the Seine and the Luxembourg garden. The cafés on the boulevard, the bookshops, the galleries of rue de Seine, the church of Saint-Sulpice and its quiet streets: it is the Paris you imagine, and it still exists.

This is the choice for couples and families alike, for the gentleness of the quarter and the presence of the Luxembourg. Our apartments are on rue de Rennes.

And the other neighbourhoods

The other arrondissements are visited from these three bases. The Louvre and the Tuileries neighbour the 2nd; the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis lie south of the Marais; the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d'Orsay and Les Invalides are reached from Saint-Germain along the quays. Keep Montmartre for a morning, climbing up by the stairways.

Choosing a neighbourhood means choosing where you come home to. The rest of the city, you explore.

How to choose

For a first visit, the 2nd puts everything within walking distance. For a family stay or friends together, the Upper Marais offers generous volumes, with three and four bedrooms. For two, Saint-Germain has the gentleness of the Left Bank. Our comparison of the three neighbourhoods goes further, and each neighbourhood has its own page with its apartments: see the neighbourhoods.

An intimate relationship with Paris, one neighbourhood at a time.

The ACT 3 Team