Recent

[Francis78]

Hello Hosts, 

We are planning to be in Paris, second week of October (11-15), spend some quality time as its our first time to Paris.  We are taking Eurostar to Paris Gare Du Nord station.  We like to be near the attractions, activities, night life and centrally located. Any recommendations or suggestions for us to stay safe and close to public transportations and not to expensive, considering we are staying for four nights, of course we would be looking at Airbnb place, a Private place for us.  I too am host here in USA.

My wife and I are planning to spend our Anniversary in Paris (special for us) and I would love to get some feed back on where to stay, and what to do consider it is our FIRST time to Paris.  Any recommendations would be greatly apprecaited.

Thank you in advance.

Francis

[Nathalie-Et-Gilles0]

Bonhour @Francis78

There are 65'000 listings in Paris.

Just enter your criteria and i am sure you'll find the perfect match.

For your anniversary, it depends on what you like.

You may try a dinner cruise on the Seine river.

Capitaine Fracasse is the cheapest for a good quality. There is a website to book.

Or a lunch at the restaurant Tour Montparnasse with a spectacular view on the Eiffel tower.

The is menu for 39€ for lunch (wine not included).

It is dearer for dinner in the evening.

Have a nice stay in Paris.

[Francis78]

Big thanks to you Nathalie for addressing my request and I am so happy for your suggestions and advise.

With warm regards,

Francis

[Kirstie]

Hi @Francis78,

That's exciting you're going to Paris for your anniversary! I'm sure you'll have a lovely time, it's a beautiful city :). 

@Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 has given you some great recommendations, thanks Nathalie!

Montmartre is a lovely area to visit and maybe stay, you can see the Sacre coeur and walk up the cobbled streets. The Marais is also a pretty area.  There are of course many other main attractions which are definitely worth going to if it's your first time! E.g. the Louvre and the Tuileries gardens, the Champs Elysées and Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame... - I agree with Nathalie that the view from the Montparnasse tower is stunning as you can see the Eiffel tower, the problem with climbing the Eiffel tower is that you can't see it!

It's quite fun to do a cycle tour in Paris if it's nice weather, it's also lovely to walk along the Seine and look at the bouquinistes on the river side who sell old books in little stalls. If you're interested in seeing a little bit of America in Paris, there is a smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty on the Île de Cygnes which was given to Paris in 1889 to mark the centennial of the French Revolution, it's quite fun to see!

You should also look at the Airbnb experiences in Paris, there's a real variety of activities available which are a fun way to experience the city 🙂

I could go on and on, I love Paris!

This is actually the French-speaking Community Center, so although there are lots of hosts here in Paris, you may not get many responses in English. I would recommend posting this in in the English-speaking Community Center as well and you may get responses from people who live in Paris or have visited!

I hope you have an amazing trip!

Kirstie

[Francis78]

Dear Kirstie!

Actually we are staying in London for few days, before we travel to Paris. Taking the Eurostar and spend few days in Paris then back to London for see the tourist attractions. Thank you for your suggestions TRULY helpful and made list of your suggestions.

Truly a pleasure to read your post and I am so pleased with all the information you have given me. I reached out to many places and finally I was able to book at Le Marais. Seams its almost centrally located, and we are planning to walk and see the sites. Most important thing is to just REST and enjoy Paris. I have printed your information and will carry it with me, thank you for all the pointers and advise, truly appreciate it.

Warm regards,

Francis

[Helga0]

Hi @Francis78, 

paris has very good public transports, the metro circulates till about 1 am and then there are night busses. So to stay close to something is not a very important criterion, as everything is at an average of 20 to 30 minutes from everything. If you are used to walking, you can easily walk accross half of Paris - some of my guests walked about one and a half the diameter in a day.

the more important question is what kind of area you search for staying, lively, safe, rich or poor, and what kind of listing, cheaper, smaller, less well equipped, luxurious, everything new or lots of antiquities- or anything in between. 

The North is often cheaper, as housing prices are lower, inner arrondissements and some to the South are more expensive up to very very expensive

[Helga0]

... phone cut off

16 arrondissement is half embassies and half very lively, half of 13 is Chinatown. Montmartre as said above is very lively, great food, cheap too, especially if you like trying food from different cultures. If you are rather fearful in strange surroundings at night, avoid it, otherwise take precautions like not to use a fancy smartphone on the street at 2 am. 

The tourist quarters in town will be lively all night @- avoid, if you want a quiet night at 11pm. 

Themore residential areas can be very quiet, especially lodgings courtyard side or in small streets, and they are usually safe to walk alone at night, even with luggage. 

Generally, in Paris you may encounter pick pockets, but are not otherwise in danger, apart from the general terrorism threat, which became worldwide. 

[Helga0]

Arriving Gare de Nord, you have a direct access to the metro in the station. The line 4 crosses Paris from North to South. If you take it in the direction of the center, you could look for a lodging in the Marais, close to the station Les Halles, close to the Centre Pompidou. You could go onand nearly every station on that line till St Germain is in a good area for your plans. It goes on to Montparnasse, with the tower restaurant, also nice and lively. The stations between and the next few are rather quiet areas. I am at Alesia, nearly to the end of the line, and I can still have a drink on a crowded terrasse at 1 am or walk to Notre Dame in the center within 30 minutes.  (My place is booked)

[Kirstie]

Wow @Helga0 great tips!! Thanks for sharing :). I'm going to save this thread for future reference and to pass on to anyone I know going to Paris!

Bon week-end,

Kirstie

[Francis78]

Dear Helga!

Truly a pleasure to have read your post and I am so pleased with all the information you have given me. I reached out to many places and finally I was able to book at Le Marais area. Seams its almost centrally located, and we are planning to walk and see the sites. Most important thing is to just REST and enjoy Paris. I have printed your information and will carry it with me, thank you for all the pointers and advise, truly appreciate it.

Warm regards,

Francis

[Helga0]

Hi Francis, 

I was waiting for a guest and fell into tourist info mode 😉

The Marais area is great to stay. I have clients there, so I know it very well. It was a Jewish area, then it became more chic and artsy. It has a gay community too, still a lot of great Jewish food, lots of shopping for clothes and second hand fancy clothes and lots and lots of art. You will enjoy walking around there, walking in narrow streets with tiny shops, gallerys and restaurants, to come out in a small place with fountains or art installations and many terraces to rest and refresh yourself. The townhall of Paris is there too. The Picasso museum is there, redone and recently reopened. I did not see it since, but my guests were charmed.

You have an easy walk to the Seine, enjoy walking along the river. 

Les Halles was formerly the market of Paris, "the belly of Paris", but that is long gone, outside to Rungis. After a competition, the new center was built, brand new, modern, the big railway station for the RER trains deep down, metro lines in the basement and shops over it. The new parc named after Nelson Mandela is being finished now, last week part of it was already open to the public and immediately taken over by people enjoying to play with the water. It's going to be very pretty, with the view around to several churches. It's full of tourists at night, enjoying to be outside in the terraces. I'd guess that the Marais has an interesting night life too, but as I'm there mostly for business or with teenagers of my family on tours, I don't know that. As Kirsty wants to keep the thread, you will have to put your experiences here as an update 😉

[Helga0]

That's the new parc at Les Halles. I took those pictures a few days ago, on the way to buy some building material, which you can do just in front of the Centre Pompidou museum of modern art. Wherever you go in this area, it's beautiful. You will enoy your stay!