I%26#39;m trying to decide where to stay in Paris when we visit in April. We are a family of 4 including 2 teens, ages 15 %26amp; 17. Clearly, we will visit all of the sites regardless of where we stay, but I just don%26#39;t know which neighborhood will best suit us. We basically want to have an %26quot;authentic%26quot; Paris experience and want to avoid typical tourist areas w/over-priced cafes, chain stores. (I don%26#39;t want to stay in the Paris equivalent of NYC%26#39;s %26quot;Times Square.%26quot;) Ideally, we would like to stay in a lively area with lots of cafes %26amp; shops and experience the true flavor of Paris. I have found good hotel options in the 4th arr./Marais and in the 6th near St. Germain-des-Pres...or should I consider the 5th arr./Latin Quarter? Please help! Any feedback would be most appreciated.
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You have managed with unerring accuracy to zero in on the three most heavily touristed areas of Paris. In order from most to least touristy I would rank them 5th, 6th, 4th. If you are serious about wanting to avoid %26quot;typical tourist areas%26quot; you probably need to steer clear of most of the 1st through 8th arrondissements, though there are areas of the 3rd, and the more remote parts of the 7th and 8th that would probably qualify.
The problem is that you seem to want all the tourist amenities of %26quot;lots of cafés and shops%26quot; and the like but without the tourists. As I%26#39;m sure you realize, that%26#39;s a bit of a tall order.
All of which said I think the northern Marais, i.e. the 3rd arrondissement, might offer the best compromise, or possibly the Batignolles area of the 17th. I could also think of parts of the 11th and 12th that would work and I%26#39;m sure others will have different suggestions.
BTW, you might also consider staying in an apartment rather than an hotel. The very act of doing a bit of shopping for bread or a bottle of wine or a bit of cheese, perhaps having your morning cup of coffee standing at the bar of the corner café, or meeting the other (hopefully Parisian) residents of the building on the stair, will make for a slight hint of the %26#39;%26quot;authentic%26quot; Paris experience%26#39; you are looking for.
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you really don%26#39;t want a %26#39;non touristy%26#39; area probably on a first trip-- we have stayed in the 20th, which is really non-touristy but way out there and inconvenient for seeing tourist sites, the 18th which is also not terribly convenient for most touring -- and loved for our early visits staying in the 4th or the 5th.
they are easy walking distance to many of the things you will want to see but have many amenities like shops, restaurants, cafes, bakeries etc
the best way to feel %26#39;non-touristy%26#39; is to get an apartment so you can shop in cool cheese shops, get your own breakfast from a bakery every morning and enjoy it at %26#39;home%26#39; and shop for interesting picnic supplies
I don%26#39;t care much for the 6th -- and doubt if it would be a place very attractive for teens --lots of stuffy snob stores IMHO
the 11th has potential and is a lively area and not too far out -- you can easily walk to Notre Dame from Bastille
on a first trip, you will want to see the big tourist attractions -- so locate where that is easy
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First, thank you so much for responding! After reading your reply, I guess I might not have expressed myself so well, or perhaps I don%26#39;t want as %26quot;authentic%26quot; an experience as I stated. That being said, we are tourists and it will be ok to stay in an area w/other tourists; I just want to avoid the MOST %26quot;touristy%26quot; areas. From your answer, it seems that we might be best off in the 4th. We are going to end up exploring all of the different neighborhoods, and I think we will happiest staying in a central location.
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Thank you. Your reply (along with the previous one) was very helpful. Point well taken - for the kids%26#39; first-time experience (my husband and I were there 20 years ago) we do want to be centrally %26amp; conveniently located and I guess that means other tourists like ourselves. I think we will book the hotel in the 4th.
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As said previously, the chosen areas are quite touristy which does not mean Parisians have deserted them.
I used to live next to the daily open air of the rue Mouffetard (in the 5th) and can assure you that, although in the Latin Quarter, it is attended mainly by locals and very %26quot;authentic%26quot;. Same for the rue de Bretagne in the 3rd arrondissement. And both of those areas are charming and centrally located.
If you want to pick a central place but not extremely touristy, stay away from the Ile St-Louis and most of the 6th arrondissement (for example, the lower part of rue du Cherche-Midi, towards Montparnasse is in the 6th but not as touristy as the rest of the arrondissement).
If you are coming to Paris with teenagers, the Bastille area can also be interesting.
And, as also stated previously, if you want to experience Paris like the locals, stay in an apartment. Not only will it be more fun and authentic but it will also be much cheaper.
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What month are you going? That depends a lot on how touristy areas will be. I%26#39;ve stayed all over Paris, almost annually since 81, but have mostly stayed in the 6th and at different times of the year. I have no problem with it. Convenient location to places I need to and want to go to is the most important.
Of course the more touristy areas are the numbers/areas getting nearer to the river. They are conveniently located to getting to places without having to be as metro dependent so much. However, it%26#39;s nothing like a Times Square atmosphere.
And why not just get an apartment? Hotel rooms in Paris are claustrophobically small. Vacation In Paris has nice apartments in convenient areas and they%26#39;re located in New Jersey. You just pay in U.S. dollars, no exchange rate fluctuation problems, and they send out the keys a couple of weeks before you depart home. There%26#39;s no security deposit as such as the only thing that is sort of like a deposit is that when you return the key, they send back $150. for the key return. And they are very easy to work with. Happy Travels!
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