Paris neighborhoods, help please
 

Still trying to find the best apartment in Paris... we have it narrowed down to the following 4 neighborhoods. Does anyone have any favorites? We're mostly going to hang out and visit the major sites and go to markets, a bit of shopping (no haute couture though)... I can see enjoying Le Bon Marché and other such places.

The 4 neighborhoods are:

Saint Denis
Montorgueil
Tuileries (place du marché St-Honoré)
Le Louvre

Thanks so much for any help!!

those are very different sections. What do you really mean, when you say the neighborhood of St Denis? That's a suburb to the north of Paris and I would not recommend that one.

I recently enjoyed market day and the basilique at St. Denis, but I certainly would not stay in the area; it's nowhere near the center of Paris.

Ok sorry, it is in the 10th arrondissement.

Scratch Saint-Denis. It's not a "Paris neighborhood," it's a suburb. Nice to visit, but not to stay in.

Montorgeuil is in the 2nd, in the old Les Halles area. Interesting area and a great market, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Tuileries is pretty upscale and would be a nice choice, as would the area around the Louvre in the 1st (those two places are close to each other), though fairly commercial and busy.

If I were apartment hunting, I actually wouldn't be looking at any of those areas, but with the exception of Saint-Denis they'd all be fine.

I think I know what you mean by St. Denis - it is a hooker street in the 2nd and 10th, but also has lots of stores that are not hooker-related. I think it's possible (although I'm not 100% sure) that you might be referring to a non-hooker area.

Without more addresses, it's hard to say, but most people would agree that St. Denis, if it's the area I am thinking about, is not the best. The other three should be fine.

Ruby, can you be a bit more specific about the location of your apartments? Specific streets, even if not number of the building?

It's just that something like "Tuileries/Place du Marché St-Honoré" is a pretty big target.

Anselm

Ok sorry...

In the Montorgueil area, it is on rue d'Aboukir

In the Tuileries area, it doesn't say what street it is on, but it is very near the place du marche St-Honore, as I posted, and is in the 1st arrondissements (closest metro is Tuileries)

The apartment near the Louvre is on rue du Louvre, 1er arrondissement also.

Thanks to all the previous responses! I'm definitely scratching St Denis from the list!!! (no wonder the apartments were big and cheap!)

We just returned from a month in Paris. We also wanted the experience of living in a "neighborhood" and immersing ourselves in Paris life.
We stayed in the north Marais district (3rd), on Rue de Bretagne across form Square du temple, and found it to be the ideal location. It's the oldest neighborhood in Paris, with historical wonders to see around every corner. 15 minute walk to the river.
Concerning your post, here is my opinion:
St. Denis was already addressed in other replies.
Montorgueil is a street, not a neighborhood, and was only about 10 minutes from where we lived. Worth seeing, but probably more touristy than neighborhoodly (is that even a word?).
Tuileries/Louvre abut each other along the river. Absolutely worth seeing, but again, too touristy to provide the experience we were after. In fact, anything on either side of the river in the area between Notre Dame and the Tuileries, and the Latin Quarter, is basically crowded with tourists. Fun to visit, but I liked going home to my quieter neighborhood in the evening.
Hope this helps you a bit.

We stayed near Rue Montorguil last week and did not find it touristy at all - it is an authentic market with a combination of good prices, products and restaurants. It was also pretty much open on Sunday when most of the shops on Rue Cler were closed. The metro is nearby and you can walk to the more tourist oriented areas in about 15-20 minutes.

Ruby, I am familiar with the Place du Marché St-Honoré area, as we have twice rented an apartment on rue des Petits Champs, just east of avenue de l'Opéra. We have walked many times to the Marché St-Honoré and along teh adjoining streets.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that area: it is quiet and safe and has ample local services, such as butchers and fish shops, bakeries, wine stores, a store that specializes in fowl of all types, and, of course, a Monoprix. There is also a twice-weekly open-air market in Place du Marché St-Honoré (Wednesday and Saturday mornings), but it is not as grand or as animated as the one on boulevard Richard Lenoir, for example.

What is lacking there is the sense of a more intimate neighbourhood, such as one might feel in the area Les described in the post above. (I rented an apartment about two blocks from Square du Temple and the area along rue de Bretagne is certainly appealing.)

I rather like rue Montorgueil and the surrounding district. I am not familiar with rue d'Aboukir, but the area around the intersection of Montorgueil/Petits Carreaux and rue Réaumur is fine.

Anselm

There are many sections of rue Saint Denis and rue du Faubourg Saint Denis, some nicer than others. It is mostly a hooker street near Strasbourg-Saint Denis metro in the garment district.

Since the street starts at Châtelet, "Saint Denis" is not a sufficient indication. I would sort of imagine that most apartments would be in the Les Halles area, therefore quite close to Montorgueil.

Thats easy, Latin quarter by the gardens
Enjoy!

You guys are always soooo helpful!! Thank you so much :-)