"Can we all agree that both viewpoints are valid and represent people's different interests and needs?"

Hear Hear!

Interesting that staying in an upper-middle class area in Paris causes consternation and censure. Most visitors to London want to stay in Kensington/Knightsbridge/Chelsea and no-one suggests they should consider Lewisham so they can be surrounded by 'real' working-class people. Aren't the middle-class people too? :)

Yes, Catherine Deneuve, and a number of other well known individuals, lives in the 6th arrondissement but south of St Germain. North of St Germain is where there is a huge concentration of tourists; particularly along rue Jacob, rue de Buci, and St André des Arts. These streets are narrow, noisy, and full of American tourists.

Oh please. Those streets, rue Jacob, de Buci and St. Andre de Arts were jam-packed with "locals" last weekend.

Just because they speak French doesn't necessarily mean they're locals. French tourists visit their capital in great numbers.
Jam-packed is the operative that gives me pause.

They were not American tourists to be sure.

it is not about posh/working class.
It is about Parisians.

I don't care if Catherine Deneuve lives in the 6th, I am sure I'll never meet her in the streets.

You want posh you go to Passy or 15th (boring).
You want working class basically you go outer arrondissements.

You want no Frenchs, you go in the 6th.

Mais il semble ici qu'il n'y ait pire sourds que ceux qui ne veulent point entendre.

Woin

Typo . . . I think you mean the 16th. I met Fanny Ardant in the Lux gardens

"it is not about posh/working class"

Do you not think Woin that there is some reverse snobbery at work here?

I have visited the 18th many times and stayed there a couple of times when I was short of money. I live in London and it is similar to Lewisham, 10 minutes from where I live. They are both seedy, jaded and a long way from what most middle-class tourists, who predominate this site, want to see.

When I visit Paris, I want to be in an area that has great architecture and restaurants within walking distance of the galleries and museums. If I wanted to stay in the 18th, I'd just forgo the airfare and hotel and walk down to Lewisham.

"Can we all agree that both viewpoints are valid and represent people's different interests and needs?"

"Mais il semble ici qu'il n'y ait pire sourds que ceux qui ne veulent point entendre."

I hear just fine, Woinparis, but it seems to me that you assume that people who are so ignorant and unsophisticated as to stay in the 6th never pass beyond its borders, as if they were kept in by an electrified fence. This is nonsense.

OReilly is right--there is a great deal of reverse snobbery that permeates this whole conversation. The needs of tourists are not the same as those of people who live in a particular city, and this is not something to be derided or treated with disdain. There's a reason that the part of Manhattan where I live, like many others, has not one hotel: there is nothing here to attract the interest of visitors to New York. While I encourage people to get away from Midtown and to see other parts of the city, I would never suggest they come to my block--they'd die of boredom.

Just as I don't live in Williamsburg, the hipster, too-cool-for-school part of Brooklyn, because it's not a place that appeals to me, I prefer not to stay in the 11th or the 20th in Paris but stay instead on the border between the 6th and 7th, although I go all over the city. I don't believe that should earn me the disdain that is evident in some of the comments in this and similar threads.

Okay, fire away.

For Paris Posh I always thought the 8eme was the ultimate. Not so???

Personally, I really don't like to stay in the 8th, but I have. A friend wanted to stay there, so I acquiesced, got a great deal on a 4/5 star hotel, but really disliked the area.

The area between Avenue Foch and Avenue Kleber is extremely posh, as is the area around Parc Monseau. These areas are boring, though, nannies pushing prams and men striding across courtyards wearing riding boots and Barbour jackets.

The 6th is lively. Lots of things to entertain the eye. The Eye Must Travel!!!


Thin

The reason the 6th is popular is that it is nice and picturesque.

The reason no French live there anymore is that picturesque attracts tourists - tourists attracts hotels restaurants bars shops. Restaurants etc attract real estate frenzy. Costs rise and only tourist industry survives. Locals are driven further towards the outer arrondissements.

Ergo no more French are to be found there.

Not one.

I I don't see where the posh comes in or the berating of the tourists. I like the 6 and visited the 6 of Tokyo New York and Bangkok before I ever ventured into the 18 of Mexico or Shanghai.

But like on the pier ?? 34 ? Of San Francisco you will meet more tourists than in xxx where I have not been. Or went because I can't read a map and got lost.

Since most of tourists don't speak French in paris - esp in June when they are at school or at work you meet more English speaking than frenchspeaking.

Voilà voilà. Bon maintenant que j'ai vidé le rouge je vais me trouver autre chose. Un porto me paraît indique.

"OReilly is right--there is a great deal of reverse snobbery that permeates this whole conversation. The needs of tourists are not the same as those of people who live in a particular city, and this is not something to be derided or treated with disdain."

Thank you for posting this!

Lots of reverse snobbery here-- I love the 6/7th border- it is posh and not as crowded as the northern 6th, which suits me just fine- and as others have pointed out- when most tourists visit they are all over the city- so where you stay is mainly about convenience and comfort.

I would not recommend someone come to San Francisco for a visit and stay in the "avenues" so they could experience "real SF"- totally inconvenient and a waste of precious vacation time getting around.. so why wouldn't a tourist to Paris stay where they can get around quickly to most sights and not have to take the metro to get to the sights...

Henri Le Roux

I'm going back for more of their caramel spread. The chocolate is delicious too but the caramel is really so good. Just note there's a not so distant expiration date so hoard wisely.

Have a great trip!

https://www.chocolatleroux.eu/

1 rue de Bourbon le Château - 75006 PARIS
Phone: +33 (0)1 82 28 49 80
Opening hours:
From Tuesday to Saturday
11:00-19:30
On Sunday and Monday
11:00-14:00 and 15:00-18:30

Métro : Saint-Germain des Prés,
Mabillon or Odéon