Choosing the Best Place to Stay in Paris

Choosing the wrong hotel in Paris can make a big difference in your overall enjoyment and practice of the city. Choose the wrong hotel and you may come home and want to join the freedom fries brigade. Choose the right hotel and, like so many others, fall in love. Calculating both what’s out there and what you are looking for makes all the difference. You can count on the tips below in order to have a wonderful stay.

1. Choose your Bank (Right or Left of the Seine). La Rive Droite (Right Bank) has traditionally been connected with expensive restaurants and even more expensive hotels. La Rive Gauche (Left Bank) brings with it bohemian images of University students at the Sorbonne and charmingly small and affordable hotels and bistros. But times have changed and like most stereotypes, these are a little bit true but mostly misleading and outdated.

2. Study about the Neighborhoods (Arrondissement). If you have done your research you know that Paris is divided into 20 arrondissement that begin at the city’s center, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and circle clockwise to the North, East, South, and West of the city.

3. Discover out what other travelers and locals think. Travel sites and blogs that include information written by locals and informed travelers , such as Virtual Tourist, I Go U Go, and Paris Daily Photo offer helpful information and vivid pictures of these neighborhoods that will make your decision easier.

4. Find a hotel near a good metro stop. Paris is big. Very big. And kind of like Las Vegas everything looks closer than it really is. You will take the Metro often, spend a lot of money on taxis, or build up some really great stamina from walking.

5. Decide what Paris means to you. Read everything you can from travel narratives, travel guide books and internet blogs. If you’re like me and you just can’t get enough, check out one of the many great movies that feature Paris, including “Paris Je t’aime”, “Amelie”, and “The Bourne Identity”.