Where to stay in Paris
 

This is my first time to Paris alone as a female, and I am finalizing accommodations (staying a little over a week in late September). Much of my trip, especially at evenings, I picture myself having a nice meal, nothing too fancy, then taking long and scenic strolls listening to my music, and being able to stop along the way for glasses of wine and possible conversation. I want to be safe but want to have the option of wandering and staying out a bit later if I want. I enjoy the idea of both lively evenings meeting others and "having fun", but also quiet evenings alone where I can sit at a local cafe, sipping wine; reading a book. During the day, I like the idea of having options of closeby cafes and also a scenic place to jog. Again, I can walk for miles without it bothering me and only prefer the Metro if I have to.

I am strongly considering the Latin Quarter, based on what I've asked others, but want to double check. Also trying to decide if it's ideal for me to stay closer to the river or further away, what is easier? Appreciate your thoughts and help!

You might enjoy the Oberkampf/Republique/Canal St martin area.

There are parts of the Latin Quarter that I love but some of it I really hate (noisy, kinda reminds me of a cheap county fair).

You might enjoy something in the 6th. Lots of cafes and little shops, plus close to the river and Louvre. Great location IMO.

Depending on your budget, the 6th or 7th should work. I prefer the 7th.

Basically stay where you want to.
Latin quarter is lovely, but I don't like it.
Too much touristy, meaning hotels will be small and expensive.
Whihc means I've never found a nice/not expensive hotel in the neighbourhood (you might want to check my 'trip report' about hotels in Paris I just posted.

Places I would recommend are as stated above :
- oberkampf, belleville
- bastille
- montmartre area (but I'm biased - spend most of my nights there).
- butte aux cailles
...

As for 'safe' I've always found Paris intra muros safe, as long as you stay at least 500 m from the 'portes'.
But I've been accused of being a male and therefore not realizing all Parisians are pervets...

So, you/ve stayed in a hotel (including a dump or two) 1 our of every 3.6 days. Don't you have a home?

Actually, I find your opinions rather boring. Hardly someone anyone should consider an "expert" on Paris hotels.

Thanks Robert.
I did delete my thread as it was indeed boring.
Thanks for your concern about my having a home. Glad it seems you spend more time than me in yours.

However it did give me the opportunity of of getting nice comments from you. Please don't hesitate to come back with such positive comments and make me realize one's experience is absolutely not interesting for anyone else.

Can you answer OP's question a little bit lesss vaguely by the way ? I leave it in your good hands...

Have a good day.

In your circumstances, I would probably stay in the 5th or 6th or around Denfert Rochereau in the 14th, though the part of the Marais in the 3rd are also great.

All these places are near enough to the Seine, which is magical at night.

I just spent two weeks in the 10th with my wife, and we had a great time. But there is the 10th and there is the 10th. Some parts are very comfortable and would be great for a youngish woman. Others are edgy. Explore it on this trip, learn what is where, and maybe go there or Belleville on your next trip.

Some of what you are dreaming of you are not likely to do because there are too many temptations, and there is one thing you should not do: walking around after dark with your earbuds in. By all means sit in a cafe listening to music, but they signal to anyone with bad intentions that you are not really in your space but somewhere else and thus a potential victim.

You will of course see French people doing it, but they have Paris street smarts and recognize and can deal with all kinds of things that will be meaningless to you if you don't live there, even more so if you don't live in a large city on the US, "large" in this instance meaning a city where middle class people take public transportation.

Have you been to Paris before? It's not clear if you've visited the city with someone else or if this is your first time coming here solo.
If you have never been here before, you would probably feel more "at home" in the Latin Quarter - look for hotels near the Cluny Museum, good for transport, lots of shopping, all the atmosphere you can handle.
Second choice would be in the Marais - look in the area of Metro Saint Paul. Same ambiance as above, but not as picturesque in my opinion.
If you don't speak any French, both these areas are very user-friendly.
If you've never been to Paris before - or even if you have - you should definitely book a hotel rather than an apartment, especially with the Mayor's current crackdown on rentals.

Based on the way you want to spend your evenings, I would strongly consider the 6th, somewhere between Luxembourg Gardens and the Seine. It is very centrally located, lively but not crazy, near the LG which is a great place to run, full of cafes and has good access to most of central Paris.

Have a great trip.

Don't know how far you like to jog, but presumably you want to be able to get back to your hotel easily, and if you jog every day, then big factor in your ultimate choice. This might help fine tune the search:

http://viarentals.hubpages.com/hub/t...o-jog-in-paris

the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th is full of joggers in the mornings so staying somewhere near there would enable you to be close to the sort of Paris that you are probably imagining and to get your exercise as well.

loads to see in that immediate area but also cafes and bars where you can read your book, bistros with great food and wine, very good access to the metro, RER and the rest of Paris, and of course lots of hotels at all price points.

I think the quiet part of the 6th isn't too bad an idea, you can job in Luxembourg Gardens, I guess. I think you have a little romanticized idea of how this is going to play out, doing a personal pub crawl, drinking all night while walking for miles alone late at night in the dark. It gets dark fairly early in late September. And you aren't going to be conversing with anyone in regular neighborhoods unless you speak fluent French, and even then people don't really drum up conversations with strangers that much, unless they are also tourists, of course. Which is why I think the Latin Qtr and 6th are not bad ideas (people do jog along the Seine, also).

I'm not sure about Denfert Rochereau, I don't think there is any park right near there to jog. Parc Montsouris is lovely but not right there and having lived for one summer down that way, there aren't cafes on every street corner down in the bottom of the 14th. Right around Alesia and Denfert, there are, though.

I think the Bastille and Oberkampf area in the 11th would also work, actually. I think people jog along bd Voltaire, not sure, it's pretty big, but there aren't cafes on it, either. and bd Oberkampf itself is pretty narrow and crowded, actually. But I think that area is a possibility in the broad sense, around Charronne, etc.

We stayed in the Latin Quarter in May and thought it seemed like a real neighborhood (not touristy) because of the many universities and the students. It was close to so many sights and there were many Metro and bus locations for venturing out. We stayed at the Hotel Residence Henri IV, where we had a lovely room, a very new and modern bathroom, and a pretty public area. It was conveniently located and not expensive, and the staff was always friendly and helpful. There were nice restaurants nearby (we specially enjoyed Le Petit Pontoise) and many more not far away. For a lovely breakfast or lunch, you might enjoy Cafe Galerie Aux Arts etc on the Left Bank, with a view of NotreDame - simple, healthy food and lovely owners.

Where is the OP ?

Totally agree with momcalice. I'd suggest staying near the rue de Buci which has many cafes open very late. Mabillon used to be open until 6am (I stayed until closing once a number of years ago). I think le Buci might be open until 3 am. Lots of activity in the area all hours of the day and night.

Due to weird sleep schedules, jet lag and such I often used to wander around until sun up or nearly so. Full disclosure: I have had a few men try to pick me up on the street, follow me for blocks, etc. It was sketchy for sure but I just kept my wits about me, smiled and pretended to be a dumb tourist while looking for the nearest cafe to duck into and say au revoir to my admirer.

Do not walk around in the middle of the night with your ear buds in, that is just asking for trouble!

Have fun!

>> <I>As for 'safe' I've always found Paris intra muros safe, as long as you stay at least 500 m from the 'portes'.</I>

What are 'portes'?