Paris - which arrondisement for solo woman traveller?
 

I am looking for accomodations in the $150 - $200 range for Paris. I would like to stay in a neighbourhood with lots of cafes and walking distance to some major sites.

Good news...Paris is a safe city, so feel good about that.

you could, if staying for week or more, think of an apartment. A search here will give you the names of some agencies and selected apartments.

for arrondissements, good start would be 4/5/6th.

there are two jumbo hotel threads. Do a search on 'paris left bank hotels' and '...right...'

very common question here so you will find many good ideas

A few years ago I stayed solo in the 3rd on rue des Tournelles, just a stone's throw behind Place Des Vosges, also near Bastille. I rented through parisbestlodge.com, but I don't think they rent that particular apartment anymore. It was a great location. Any place in central Paris will probably fit the bill.

My solo stays have usually been in the Passy area in the 16th, which I like a lot. Question: is this your first trip to Paris? If you've been there before, where did you stay and what did you like best/least about the location?

My recent trip was to the 6th which I found very convenient
as I was 1/2 block from bus to Right Bank, 2 blocks from
Odeon metrocafes & restaurants nearby, w/2 Monprixes within a block...hotel was cheap so it was not a hassle to get about each day.

If anyone has been there recently, does the price range sound reasonable?
@Rhea58 - where did you stay?


This is my second visit but I was much younger the first time around.

Hi K,

>which arrondisement for solo woman traveller?<

It would help if you gave us a hint as to your age and your interests.

I'd have different suggestions for a 20yr old than for a 35yr old.

((I))

Two good budget hotels I have stayed in solo are Hotel Eugenie and Hotel Saint Pierre( the one by the Sorbonne) both are in excellant safe areas, with lots to walk to , metros stores and cafes all around you.

I absolutely love the 6th -- and if you can stay within a block or so of Blvd St. Michel that's even better.

If you are a shopper, then staying near Au Printemps in the (ACH I'm blocking, 8th or 18th?) can be heaven.

The problem in Paris, like NYC, is at night. And then I simply would not advise walking around alone. After the sun is down. At all.

If you don't mind paying a lot for your coffee (and after all that's why it's a vacation right) the best area of all might be near the Louvre and Rue de Rivoli, where you have plenty of all three, or L'Opera for the same reason. (And if you're a decent walker you can walk among them)

I also recommend whatever they are calling their metro pass these days -- when tired you can just jump on a bus and watch paris go by. The 38 bus takes you from one side of the city to the other.

Be sure to try a crepe from a corner stand, ditto for french ice cream and a bagette made over a real wood fire...

Always say please (seel voo play) thank you (mayr see) and excuse me (pahr-dun-ay mwa) and many Parisioners can actually be nice lol!

Enjoy!

TF

Kelsey22: I stayed at:

www.saintpierre-hotel.com/

same one that JustineParis has recommended...very very reasonable w/cafe to left & right of hotel, across from the Sorbonne.

Oops forgot to mention great upscale resto across street w/reasonable prices (to wit: 100 euros for dinner for 4 w/Kir & 1 bottle of hard cider) and they have a cider cellar w/private table that is very cute: www.compagnie-de-bretagne.com.

Recommend the Coquille St Jacques gallettes & crepe for dessert.

Hotel du Lys is in the 6th, 2 min. walk from both St. Michel and Odeon metro stations. Great location for exploring both left and right banks. www.hoteldulys.com

I was alone one year and stayed in the Marais.
There are so many restaurants,some with sing-a-long, tea rooms, bars. Never a boring day.

I think you would enjoy around the area of Place des Vosges, can be quiet, but at the same time so near many wonderful local shops and cafes. Also close to the Richard Lenoir markets too

<<The problem in Paris, like NYC, is at night. And then I simply would not advise walking around alone. After the sun is down. At all.>>


Absolute balderdash. Walking around Paris alone at night - just about anywhere in Paris - is perfectly safe.

<<If you don't mind paying a lot for your coffee (and after all that's why it's a vacation right) the best area of all might be near the Louvre and Rue de Rivoli, where you have plenty of all three, or L'Opera for the same reason. (And if you're a decent walker you can walk among them)>>

Totally disagree. This is the most commercial area of Paris, busy, noisy, few cafés and restos compared to many other parts of the city. Unless you're on a business trip, I'd choose another arrondissement.

<<I also recommend whatever they are calling their metro pass these days -- when tired you can just jump on a bus and watch paris go by. The 38 bus takes you from one side of the city to the other.>>

Generally, it's a better deal just to buy a carnet of tickets.

<<Be sure to try a crepe from a corner stand, ditto for french ice cream and a bagette made over a real wood fire...>>

I'd love to know where in Paris you can get a baguette made over a real wood fire.

LOL, StCirq.

I was going to respond to the "not walking around after the sun goes down" comment earlier, but couldn't find a nice way to say, "That's !@#$%^& ridiculous."

But balderdash works... ;-)

StCirq, well summarized.
I avoid Champs Elysee and Rue de Rivoli as places to eat or people watch. Crowded, over-priced.

I am also out every night when I visit. One trip I walked from Montmartre to Jardin des Plantes...arrived back at hotel at 3AM. Yet I was never 'alone', be it people on street, cars,etc..

4/5/6th are fine for first time visitor, busy, nice to be able to walk to Seine (which I try to do every evening), plenty of people out, restos, clubs.

I traveled solo in 2009. I stayed in the 6th at the hotel des grand echoles. I loved loved loved it!. Lots of cafes, all very close and not far to the Line 10 Cardinal Lemoines metro station. It is walking distance to the Jardin du Luxembourg and The Pantheon.

The 7th for something more peaceful and residential. 4th, 5th, 6th for something more central.

Unless you are someplace really out of the way or in an area tourists aren't likely to find themselves, there is no problem walking (for example) from your hotel out to get something to eaet in a restaurant after dark. I wouldn't be wandering drunk down dark alleys at midnight, but there is NO need to feel trapped in your hotel room after the sun goes down. That's just silly advice.

>I'd love to know where in Paris you can get a baguette made over a real wood fire.<

So would I, StC.

That poster seems to be living in an alternate universe.

((I))

Poilane still make their breads on wood fired ovens.
When the father was alive (the daughrer runs the operation now) He wouild give you a look at the downstairs oven.Unfortunately he his wife and dog died in his planethst
crashed

back to a hotel...

http://www.hotelnotredameparis.com/pages/rates.html

I stayed at this one a while back, it has been refreshed since. Prime location, you are across street from RER station to airport, you could ($) have a view of sundsets over Notre Dame (we stayed in loft). Busy street in front, but our room had no noise.

Easy walk to multitude of restaurants, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Ile St Louis, Blvd St germain...right there. Couple minutes walk to Seine cruise. Across street, bouquinistes selling their old prints, books.

For breakfast we crossed over to Ile de la Cite and had it on patio of cafe in front of Justice building.

I almost gave up the trip based on that one post! I did have an "unfortunate" incident way back when so I am a little apprehensive to begin with! I will take the other fodorites word for it and assume that it is safe (using my good judgement and my city savvy as my guide). One post asked how old I was - I am in my late forties. I am not interested in the night life per se. I would like to be able to be as central as possible for the evening strolls. I love to people watch, visit galleries, perhaps do a cooking course, take a couple of day trips and soak up as much as I can of the city. I prefer to take a slow travel approach than run from sight to sight. I am an avid reader and would like to take some literary strolls.

That is me in a nutshell. Thank you to all the fodorites. My last trip was amazing and I owe a lot to the people who took the time to answer all my queries.

I check out the immediate area by daylight, and figure out places near-ish my hotel that I would be comfortable walking after dark. I don't go out aimlessly.

Something in the 4th thru the 7th fits what you seek. Look at a map of Paris. The arrondisement numbers go like a snail, with one being the center, then spiraling outward. Another tip is the last two digits of the address/postal code give you the arrondisement number, helpful when you're reviewing hotels.

Don't give up! Many women on this website have written excellent trip reports about their solo trips to Paris. They inspired me to take my own solo trip in my fifties and I have gone back and done it a few times now.

Walking alone at night is not a problem in any of the areas I have stayed, which include the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 17th arrondissements. I'm going back next month for a stay in the 11th. So far, I've liked them all. Looking forward to trying a new neighborhood.

Paris is very safe and I always feel comfortable.

When we were there a few months ago, my husband got sick so I spent a lot of time, day and night, out alone. No worries. I am 46 and agree that the 7th feels more residential. I liked it but really love the Odeon area of the 6th. Odeon metro station is convenient, bus lines also right there, great cafes, great patisseries. There are lots of hotels in the area. Take a look at Hotel Louis II.

Enjoy!

Well I am in your age group,, I walk around at night( what does that traveller do go to bed at 7pm?????) it is fine in most areas that tourists are in,, I found that silly remark very ,, well, silly.

I think that when one is alone an area that is very residental feels a bit deserted at night to walk alone, I prefer to be around others wandering around, so 4th , 5th and 6th.

And , the area around Rue Du Rivoli,, well I stayed there once, its boring , lined with tacky tourist shops, over priced cafes, and I had trouble finding reasonable places to eat.

<I think that when one is alone an area that is very residental feels a bit deserted at night to walk alone, I prefer to be around others wandering around, so 4th , 5th and 6th.>

Agree, with a personal preference for the 6th for a solo woman. There are lots of people out in the streets even late into the night. Also, the closer the hotel is to a metro stop helps my comfort level, as usually that means you don't have a lot of dark alleys to walk through to get there.

ROLF: "Balderdash"!

''My solo stays have usually been in the Passy area in the 16th,''

Snap - me too.

It's a bit more out of the way, and quite quiet at night, but I really like it.

Some parts of it are very quiet, but I tend to stay near the Place Victor Hugo. For me, that location isn't out of the way. The metro and bus stops are close by and it's an easy walk to the Trocadero or the Asian arts museum (Guimet) and there's a variety of restaurants and cafes open fairly late.