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Post by andi on May 22, 2007 7:51:14 GMT -5
Many times people ask this question and there are many different answers and recommendations, I personally like the 15th bordering on the 7th because of the type of area it is and easy access to everything I want, many people like the Marais area (4th) for it central location and style, please add your favorite and reasons why.
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Post by andi on May 22, 2007 14:43:20 GMT -5
Any other opinions here?  |
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Post by GitteK on May 22, 2007 14:54:28 GMT -5
you have patience of a wasp !
Some of us have to WORK you know, to earn moneys to go to Pawee, right ?
OK - here goes. Normally I shun these questions as the plague, but if you insist.
Last summer I stayed in the lower end of the 5th, around the little lovely villagelike square at the end of Rue Mouffetard - and I loved the area. It has a very local resident feeling to it - and the food that you can get down there, oh my, oh my..... Some tourists, yes, but not far as many as in the upper "Torremolinos-come-to-Paris" end of the 5th arr.
The area around Jardin des Plantes, Censier Daubenton, Rue Monge, Place Monge, Rue du Cardinal Lemoine. In short the southeast end of the 5th - highly recommendable.
I have got many more - you'll get those another day - and I so wish that Irish would come back to us and share his inexhaustable konwledge of the 11th and all its restos and winebars.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on May 22, 2007 14:58:36 GMT -5
Opinions? You want opinions?? Boy, have we got opinions! ;D
Of the areas where I've actually stayed, I love being on Ile St Louis (especially when staying in a flat), which is part of the 4th, but right across the river from the Marais. It's central to everything, yet still has a "neighborhood" feel to it. Most everything you might need in a hurry is close by (there is a good produce store, several sources for breads etc., at least two cheese stores, a Nicolas for wine, a fair-sized convenience store that has at least one of pretty much anything you need in a hurry when you don't have time to take the metro to Bon Marche or Galleries Lafayette for food shopping (and some much smaller versions of the same type of store), a number of cute boutiques with relatively inexpensive purses, scarves, etc., many gift shops that are a cut above the stuff on rue de Rivoli, etc., etc., etc. Also, of course, a number of cafes, bistros and restaurants, although some are too touristy and/or too expensive for what they are (especially on the Notre Dame end, where they get so much spillover). There are several small and comfortable hotels, also (Deux Iles, Lutece, and others). If you want a flat on Ile St Louis, I recommend Guest Apartment Service because that is their specialty (although they also have several in the Marais and now some in the 6th and 7th as well).
I also have stayed several times in the 7th, on rue de l'Universite and rue du Bac down toward the Musee d'Orsay end (of each), and like that area as well but not nearly as much as Ile St Louis.
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Post by Ray(aka) tripnebraska on May 22, 2007 15:47:41 GMT -5
We stayed on the border of the 1st and 8th. It was great for a 1st trip.
Reading opinions from veteran travelers pre-trip, I wondered why so many seemed to favor the Marais. Now having gone and wondered around the city abit, that is the area I will also look to first for an apartment for my next trip. I liked the vibe of the area.
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Post by holger on May 22, 2007 15:54:01 GMT -5
Do not have the experience of the others so my answer is based on those limitations. I really do not like using mass transit so prefer to be central even realizing that there will be more tourists like me. Thus I want to be able to maximize where I can walk to and from. Since I loved my location in the 1st but on a quiet street a block from the Seine and between the Pont Neuf and Pont des Artistes, that is my favorite. I could walk many places, right bank. left bank, Ile de Cite, Ile St. Louis and quiet areas, noisy areas, pet shops, cheap shopping, expensive shopping, restaurants, other arrondisements, etc. Love my hotel and will be returning this next trip. After that we will see. Found an apartment near the Palais Royal that I really like, at least on line, but that would be 2008 or 2009.   |
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Post by sistereurope on May 22, 2007 16:36:53 GMT -5
I've only stayed 2 places: The Ile St Louis and the 15th. My husband, who had been to Paris many times, thought I should stay on the Ile St Louis for out first trip. We had a little studio overlooking the Seine...sigh...very romantic!! For our second trip we took the kids and stayed in a great apartment on the rue du commerce in the 15th. VERY different experience. I liked them both for what they were - different trips, different times! But while I liked the Ile St Louis, I most likely would never stay there again. I actually liked being in a less-touristy section of town. So WHEN I go back, I'm thinking about staying in the area that Gitte described (the southeast corner of the 5th), near my friend's place. And the time after that, probably Montmarte...although I like the Marais too...
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Post by Shoesy on May 22, 2007 23:01:18 GMT -5
I like the idea of staying in a place that's right in the center, but on a pleasant, quiet street. That's the main reason my husband and I loved the Britannique Hotel, which is situated in the 1st, but bordering the 4th.
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Post by trechic on May 24, 2007 11:14:09 GMT -5
Now...Shoesy...see...if you had come to Cape Cod this summer, I could have given you a pedicure!! I have a salon there!!
I cannot say which is the best, but I do know that in making my choice (the Marais) I could not have done it without alot of reading and taking in all of your input. I feel completely confident in my choice. For my first time, I wanted to be central and close to the Seine as I imagined myself taking my early morning stolls and after dinner walks along it at night. I have a feeling about the "neighborhood" that somehow just resonates with me. I also have always wanted to stay in Montmartre, but for my first trip discounted it - although I am considering adding four days there to the end of my 10 nights in the Marais. If not this time, then next - as I am more than certain - there will be a next and it will be soon. I have had Paris within me since I was very young - so I have been in love with it from a distance for a very long time...VERY long... I simply cannot wait!! 149 days to go.......
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Post by susanb on May 25, 2007 10:10:23 GMT -5
What I like about this question is that people are planning not only their next trip, but the trip after that. Aren't we dreamers?
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Post by Shoesy on May 26, 2007 22:41:02 GMT -5
trechic - I just saw your post. (I'm still trying to get the hang of this forum!) One day I'd love to visit Cape Cod and get a pedicure chez trois, but this summer we'll be kind of busy with my daughter's wedding at the beginning of August. ;D
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Post by trechic on May 27, 2007 8:15:44 GMT -5
Ohhhhh Shoesy!!! How exciting!!! Is the wedding in Israel? NY?
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Post by Shoesy on May 27, 2007 9:31:05 GMT -5
My daughter's wedding will be in N.Y. (she lives there), and my son's wedding will take place in the summer of 2008. That one will be in Israel because he lives here. |
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Post by Roniece on Jun 9, 2007 4:32:19 GMT -5
for me I have stayed in the same area twice and will return again in August... the same place that Gittek prefers in the 5th.... it's quite lovely
I have also stayed in the 19th and the 11th - those areas I was not too fond of just due to the fact that I didn't really know where I was but I remember walking all day from the 19th to get back to the 5th to say hello to some of my new friends... I was very tired after that walk!
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Post by joan1 on Jun 17, 2007 1:48:09 GMT -5
I have stayed in the 5th,, and the 1st. My relatives are in the 9th, which, while their place is nice, seemed a bit less central to me( I consider the river as "central").
This time we are trying the 6th, but it is near the 5th,, and only blocks to the Seine, so I hope we like it.
The 1st was a bit too far from cheap eats,, and the 5th has some areas that I thought were just too busy.
I have never hated anywhere I have stayed though.
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hahahha