Paris trip in May: Priority quiet arrondissement
 

My friend and I are travelling to Paris in May. I am one of those that needs a significant amount of sleep to function. We are planning on renting an apartment. I have done some research & cannot decide on which arrondissement is the best for our needs. I really think I am willing to sacrifice walking further in place of a peaceful sleep. Can anyone offer up some firsthand knowledge of what may be our best option? Also, what about some off the beaten path, less touristy activities or things to see/do?

Thanks!!

I always book a hotel room with a courtyard view.

I don't think the arrondissement is the relevant gauge to accomplish your sleeping objective. Busy street in a further away place can be still noisier than a quieter location in the core of Paris. I always ask for a quiet room on an upper floor in a big city. Sometimes such rooms are only available in higher price categories. I also bring ear plugs just in case I got stuck in a noisy room. Even if your first night might be in a noisy room, hotels might have latitude in moving you to a quieter room later on.

Ask for a room away from the lift. Check that the hotel has double glazing and is quiet. If you expect hot weather, you will need air con if the windows are kept closed. Tripadvisor reviews are often helpful re noise. Arrondissement is irrelevant and courtyards can be problematic as the noise echoes and amplifies in the confined space. As we have found to our cost. Actually the better the hotel, the more chance you have of quiet but this is not an iron clad rule so be careful.

You might have more luck with a chain hotel that will have double glazed windows. The arrondissement is not important as all will have busy areas. If you do want to go for an apartment look for one on a quiet side street, away from main areas. Go to google maps and streetview the area, places with lots of restaurants and cafes will likely have a lot of people around at night and may be open late which can be very noisy. Also restaurants get early morning deliveries so that can disrupt you as well.

The arrondissement is irrelevant as you cannot predict nor control the noise coming from neighbors.

My daughter-in-law and I stayed in an apartment in Place Dauphine last year, right in the heart of central Paris, but it was on the top floor and the Place was so quiet anyway that it could have been on the ground floor and we wouldn't have heard anything. If you're interested, I can give you the link to the apartment; it was beautiful.

Ellen

Make sure that the apartments you look at say they have elevators or are on the ground or 1st floor. Just looking for an upper floor so it will be quiet can be a mistake, as I found out when I quickly booked a room in Prague and asked for an upper room with outlook towards the bridge. We ended up having to walk up 5 flights of stairs. I ALWAYS check for an elevator as a result :-)

Thank you everyone for your replies. ellen75005, I would love the info on that apartment! I usually bring a sound machine to be safe.

For the last several years, we have stayed in an apartment in the 17th - Batignolles. Perfect for us. quiet. covered maret nearby, convenient Metro. Try www.rentParisnow.com.

We normally stay on the busiest street in the Marais but never hear a sound because the apartment is on the back side of the courtyard.

No arrondissement can guarantee good sleep. I live on a busy intersection but hear nothing because of my excellent double-glazed windows and extremely thick walls. I even miss the car accidents unless they are violent.

Yes, look for apartments where the bedroom overlooks the courtyard instead of the street. This is pretty common as Parisians like to sleep also. There's definitely no need to stay far out in search of quiet.

Agree that the arrondissement makes no difference at all. There are noisy and quiet spots everywhere. I always stay in the 7ème, and if I wanted a quiet room I'd get an "interior" hotel room overlooking the courtyard instead of an "exterior" one overlooking the street. I choose the latter, but I don't have sleep issues.