Montmatre or Latin Quarter?
 

Where do you prefer to stay in Paris? Is the Latin Quarter more "bohemian" and affordable? Has anyone stayed at Hotel St Jacques and would recommend it?

Location, location, location

Montmartre is well out of the loop - Latin Quarter is great for strolling at night - Louvre, Notre-Dame, Seine all close by

The Latin Quarter is great for strolling at night if you think that Disneyland on a Saturday in July is great for strolling.

Yes, Latin Quarter is much more central. It IS great for strolling, only a few blocks right around Place St Michele are "disney like", and even that's really not that bad. But the rest of the Latin Quarter is lovely and an evening stroll would be less crowded than around parts of Montmartre. Montmartre is a lovely area too, but not close to the rest of central Paris and the area around Sacre Coeur can be very crowded.

I have stayed at Hotel St Jacques and highly recommend it. There are many others on this board who have also stayed there.

I don't think either one is exactly Bohemian nowadays -- at least not in the parts where there are hotels and you are considering, I bet.

I prefer the Latin Qtr, but I use that term to mean the entire 5th arrondisment, and what most people are talking about when they say that is a few blocks around St Michel metro stop and the Seine, maybe extending up to a quarter mile from that. I do not like that area at all, if that's what you mean. St Jacques is an area I don't care for that much, and have stayed nearby (I don't like rue des Ecoles), although it's not the worst are, for sure. I think a lot of tourists would like that location, but don't expect La Boheme.

I do like the area pretty well around the Pantheon, extending a few blocks to the east or SE, and I like the area of rue Monge/Mouffetard, place Contrescarpe, so if that's what you mean, I do like that area. That is not where St Jacques is, but there are some hotels over there.

Montmartre has plenty of tacky, overly infested tourist areas, that's for sure, and it doesn't really have that many great hotels, so where exactly would you be staying there? I might stay there for a longer stay, but not for a few days stay which is mainly touristic, nor would I recommend it to people for that reason.

The Hôtel St-Jacques is a popular place.

That said, I wouldn't ever stay in either of those areas (unless I snagged a cute little apartment in certain parts of Montmartre).

Montmartre just isn't convenient for a visitor who hasn't been to Paris many times - too far away from everything. And the Latin Quarter is far too noisy and crowded for most of the year for my tastes.

Actually, although the original question is probably from a first-timer (considering the question that is asked), it has to be split up.

"Bohemian" used to refer to Montmartre and Montparnasse, NEVER the Latin Quarter.

"Affordable" is a term rarely applied to the center of Paris, but rather to the outlying arrondissements. Montmartre is in an outlying arrondissement, therefore more affordable.

"Hôtel Saint Jacques" is a specific question. I'm sure it is a fine hotel, but it would certainly not be Bohemian, and "affordable" is a completely subjective term. Bill Gates, for example, can afford anything. I myself can afford hotel rooms up to 120€ if I am one of the most expensive cities in the world. If I had to stay in a hotel in Paris, which is a relatively cheap city for hotels, and considering the fact that I have modest tastes, I would refuse to pay more than 60€ for a hotel, especially since the transportation in Paris is excellent, precluding the obligation to stay in the center.

I forgot I had posted this question, please forgie me for my delayed reply. I feel a little bit more informed now. Still haven't decided on where to stay. What is the distance between these two places?

Basic driving distance b/t Sacre Coeur and rue des Ecoles is about 5 kilometers... about 12 metro stops(so around 15 minutes by metro).

Montmartre is uphill so one way or the other you will feel that as you go back and forth in your walks to a metro stop.

Hotel St Jacques is a very popular hotel, and you will find comments on it at Tripadvisor.com