Stay Left or Right Bank?
 

Looking for hotel next Spring for 5 nights in Paris. Two single women traveling. we're hearing that it's better to stay in the Right Bank and not the Left Bank. Both sound appealing, any thoughts? It's our first trip and we like easy access to public transportation. Any hotel recommendations in the $100-$150 range?
Thanks!

I'm in a minority on this one but I stay on the right bank. Three Springs in a row '01, '02 & '03 I've wandered over to the left bank to the 5th and 6th for an afternoon to see what it is I'm supposed to be missing. All I can tell is that if you want to spend your time with tourists of all nationalities and the Parisian version of yuppies, that's where you need to be. Or maybe those "Parisian" yuppies are really just more tourists from the rest of France. :-D

Tourists or not I just find the left bank more convenient and less granduer..the transportation is better. it is not as "isolated"after dark. And Champs Elysee is nothing but chain stores and tourist traps..after dark falls. All the life is on the left bank

I agree with the Left Bank as the best base. It feels more Parisian and areas like Quartier Latin and St. Germain are lively at night, full of cafes, bars, clubs restaurants and so on. I totally agree about the Champs Elysees - quite a disappointment. Plus Boulevard Hausmann near the Hard Rock is overrun with T-shirt wearing tourists.

I generally agree that the Left Bank (5th, 6th or 7th) is more pleasant to stay in...an exception on the Right Bank - le Marais (4th.) Full of wonderful cafes, bistros, shops...very lively, colorful and lots of fun (especially around the extremely lovely Place des Vosges.)

Both the left and right banks have their charming and interesting places to stay -- in all price ranges.

While I agree that the right bank is usually quieter at night, it's where I always stay. I've found a hotel that I love in a very convenient location. It's out of your price range, or I would recommend it.

Paris is a very easy city to get around. No matter where you decide to stay, you will most likely be close to the metro and/or bus line. It's a very walkable city, too.

Diane

I used to stay in the right bank, until i discovered the charm and the joie de vivre of the left...
I just came back from Paris and I stayed at the Bonaparte in St. Germaine..it was my first time at this particular hotel , is excellent for the price they charge, I felt very safe there, also every room had an Air conditioner.

Hi there, One of my girlfriends and I stayed here and I can recomend this. The hotel is on the Left Bank, fairly close to Notre-Dame, it sounds like this would work for you. It's called the Familia Hotel. Also right next door, same owners, is Minerve Hotel. I found the first one in a Fodors travel book on Paris. Good rates. location, clean & friendly too. Also since you are not supposed to put full website links up here if you look on guestinitaly they have a Paris section with a good variety of listings with great descriptions. I would try & book through the hotel first rather than the site. Good luck & have fun! Eileen

I much more often have stayed on the right bank as well. The left bank has a better selection of moderate cafes within walking distance; on the right bank they are much fewer and farther between and you have to avoid most places on the rue de Rivoli.
Still, there is something about the quieter right bank at night, strolling over to Place de la Concorde, perhaps having an expensive nightcap in the hotel bar at the Crillon or Meurice or Ritz.
During the day, I enjoy walking to the Louvre, browsing along rue St Honore, etc.
Paris is wonderful; so are all of its neighborhoods, in different ways.

Ps
I have a long file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me at
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I also agree with the left bank, for all the same reasons stated above. We've stayed in the Latin Quarter twice and loved it. Our most recent visit was at Hotel Monge, which we really enjoyed.

I'm with the majority saying the Left Bank, especially the Latin Quarter or St. Germain. I traveled with my friend a few years back, both then in our late 20s and single, and we loved St. Germaine. Lots going on, felt totally safe. Last year my husband and I stayed at the Hotel Familia in the Latin Quarter and liked it too, though it's in a quieter area.

It won't matter, you can find pleasant accomodations in your budget range on either side of the Seine. On the Left Bank, stay in the St. Michel area and have numerous subway and bus lines within a block or two. On the Right Bank, the same is true if you stay near Opera area.

I'm a big fan of the Left Bank, especially the Latin Quarter, but I find it generally more yuppified than the funkier Marais, which is on the Right Bank in the 4th.

In the Marais, I would recommend:
Grand Hotel Jeanne D'Arc, 3 rue de Jarente, which runs about $80 a night for two. They do have small rooms, but it's a very good location and deal!

Also: Hotel du 7E Art, 20 rue St.Paul, starts at about $75/night. The rooms are decorated with vintage Hollywood movie posters! It's a really cool place.

Hotel Beaumarchais 3 rue Oberkampf runs about $100 per night. The rooms are done in funky colors, very modern inside.

Just so you know, outdoor jewelry, poster, and other art stalls line the Place Des Vosges in the Fall, Spring and Summer. Classical and jazz musicians play outside for free. It's a beautiful area, also very close to Avenue Francois Bourgeois ( sp?) which has lots of amazing jewelry and clothing boutiques owned by young artists.

Good luck, and have fun! I also have restaurant recommendations if you need them.

JUST READING these posts has me dreaming...my head is whipping around from arrondissement to arrondissement....recalling all the terrific aspects of each!!!
RECOMMENDATION...we should all go to Paris at least 20 times...each time staying in a different arrondissement!!!

I'm game, Bailey. Sounds like a great idea. Then, maybe by the 20th trip, I'll work my way up to that largest size Eiffel Tower!

I believe the Marais has the distinction of being the only neighborhood in central Paris left untouched by the hand of Haussmann and, for that reason alone, I love it (even though I prefer to stay across the Seine in the 5th or 6th.)

The Jack's Travel Guide website below, however, says that the Marais was "next in line to go."

http://www.jack-travel.com/Paris/Par...ron_Haussm.htm

On our first trip to Paris we stayed on the right, the 9th I believe. We were close to two metro stations and a few blocks from lots of restaurants. We enjoyed our visit very much.

Since then we have stayed on the left, most recently kind of in between the 6th and 7th, and really prefer it for many of the reasons given above.

It is so easy to use public transportation to get around in Paris, I don't think you will be disappointed no matter which side you stay on. The perfect solution is to go several times and stay on both sides and then decide for yourself. Good idea? *-:)

Bailey, here's an old thread about a couple and some friends who celebrated his 60th birthday by having a drink in each of the 20 arrondissements in a single day. I think they only missed one.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34384586

i had a great stay in the 9th near the opera and the Best Western (there are 2 there and either would be great). more cozy and residential feel...you get to live like a parisian and get out of the hustle and bustle of tourism. and the metro is so good that it takes only minutes to get from one place to another. and to top it off, paris is a fairly small city (i compare london to ny city and paris to washington,d.c.) that you can walk most of it very easily.