Questions about where to stay in Paris (9/1-9/7)

Hi! My husband and I are going to Paris the first week of September. I've been looking into booking an apartment on Airbnb and was wondering which arrondissement would be best for us. We have friends who have been to Paris a few times who like to stay in Belleville which seems kind of removed to me (at least for our first trip to Paris). I've heard that the metro is wonderful but I'm not sure we want to be on the metro all the time to go anywhere. We live in Philadelphia so we don't mind walking. Also, we are in our early 40's and enjoy going to low key bars and restaurants. I was thinking about staying in the 6th (St Germain des Pres) close to Luxembourg Garden. I wanted some input from people who have stayed in this area. Is it full of annoying tourists? Is it worthwhile to be within walking distance to a lot of the major sights for our first visit? I appreciate your help.

If you want low key bars and restaurants, then stay where your friends do in Belleville. If you want to be within walking distance of the major sights (and major tourists) then stay around St Germain des Prés.

We stayed for a week in an Airbnb in Rue du Cherche Midi not far from the Saint Sulpice Metro Station in Saint Germain.

We thought it was close to perfect, and wouldn't have wished to be any further out in the "burbs". We walked everywhere. Plenty of places to drink or dine, although we self catered most of the time. Pretty busy on the streets ... mostly locals.

As mentioned, Saint Germain would be perfect : you'll find a lot of tourists in Saint Michel which is just next to it. Plus, it's very picturesque! Try the 11th also, which is slightly farther away but full of small low-key bars

BTW we were the last to stay in that St Germain particular apartment ... the city or the building management had shut down short term letting and subletting ... not sure about the status of Airbnb in Paris generally.

That's exactly where I was looking. Glad to hear you had a good time. Did you think that the area where you stayed was less touristy than the northern part of the Left Bank?

BTW we were the last to stay in that St Germain particular apartment ... the city or the building management had shut down short term letting and subletting ... not sure about the status of Airbnb in Paris generally.

I used to rent out an apartment on Airbnb and I've never had a problem (I stopped a couple of months ago). Probably it was because of something wrong with that particular apartment

Did you think that the area where you stayed was less touristy than the northern part of the Left Bank?

Definitely ... it was full of locals going about their lives ... lively though.

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I was looking for atmospheric, convenient, and fun. This sounds like a good spot for us. Paolo, since you know the area well, any particular streets that we should avoid staying or ones that would be really nice?

I was looking for atmospheric, convenient, and fun. This sounds like a good spot for us. Paolo, since you know the area well, any particular streets that we should avoid staying or ones that would be really nice?

Generally speaking, the city center is pretty safe. The sixth, which is by the way my favorite area, is all beautiful! You should definitely check out the cafe Procope (where the French Revolution was basically organized) and the cafe de Flore (where Sartre used to write).

BTW we arrived at the Gare du Nord (via fast train from Lyon) and just caught a regular bus to St Germain ... it was no drama.

St Germain has atmospherics, convenience, and lovely streetscapes ... bars and other fun activities might be a bit stronger elsewhere, but I'm not a Parisien!

I was also thinking about Marais. Why do you love the 6th the most? Also, you mentioned the 11th. I had read that the 11th was very young and full of nightclubs. I'd like your input on these other areas. Thanks for your help!

We always stay in Ménilmontant, next to Belleville. We love it there but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Are you aware of the crackdown on short-term apartment rentals in Paris in the past couple of years? The mayor's office is particularly targeting AirBnB. I wouldn't dream of renting an AirBnb apartment in Paris these days.

If you want young and full of nightclubs, you should look at Belleville, Oberkampf, and Bastille. The 6th is beautiful, but frumpy and way expensive, in my opinion, and the Marais has become such a tourist mecca it's almost impossible to hear French spoken or walk down the street without being mowed down by folks wheeling rollaboards. On the other hand, it's a phenomenally historic part of Paris and well worth visiting.

I was also thinking about Marais. Why do you love the 6th the most? Also, you mentioned the 11th. I had read that the 11th was very young and full of nightclubs. I'd like your input on these other areas. Thanks for your help!

The Marais is amazing too, slightly different from the rest of Paris because it hasn't been "reformed" by Haussmann. The sixth in my opinion is more quiet though, so it depends on what you are looking for.
That's exactly the reason I mentioned the 11th, because it's less touristic and full of bars (but if you stay in the sixth you could go to Pantheon, which is the University area).

Keep in mind though that Paris is relatively small and the metro/buses are very efficient.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I was thinking of ruling out the 11th because I don't want "young and full of nightclubs". If there are a decent number of good, authentic bars and bistros, we're happy.

We're definitely looking for quieter place to stay since we are the type of travelers that are on the go from early am to late pm.

Oh sorry, I thought you were looking for something like that. Then I would suggest you stay in the sixth, which is a good combination between bars / restaurants and residential areas.

Yes ... after all the mayhem and cacophony of the touristed parts of the city, it was great to return to the relative calm of our St Gernain neighbourhood, where there were still plenty of places to discover.

And it may be frumpy and beautiful, but that's why people go to Europe in the first place, since they have all the sleek and modern at home.

I would also check out the Airbnb situation for Paris , rather than rely too heavily on hearsay. Or you might prefer to use booking.com etc to secure an apartment.

I found this article. http://www.thelocal.fr/20160113/paris-cracks-down-on-illegal-airbnb-flats
It looks like Airbnb has agreed to pay the city for its bookings in Paris and people aren't allowed to rent their apartments for more than 120 days a year.

There are hundreds of rooms/properties listed for Paris, however strangely few for the 6th Arr. You can only rent for 120 days a year ... see,s an odd policy ... and how does anyone enforce it? Oh well, good luck with it.

I read an article (forgot where to be honest) which stated that the main problem was that people rent apartments they are not legally allowed to (like subletting). I thought everything was ok after airbnb 's decision to pay more taxes..

Hi jarmstr,

I love this part of Paris and if I'm on my one, I always stay in a hotel not far from Boulevard Saint-Michel (the ones towards Luxemburg Gardens are cheaper) but with friends I have stayed at the Citadines which are non-serviced apartments with laundary facilities and all the other facilities you would expect in a hotel (you can request a service if you want). They were very good value and ideally located on the river opposite Pont Neuf

http://www2.citadines.com/en/france/paris/saint_germain_des_pres.html

The situation with Airbnb is the Loi Alur which was enacted to keep rental properties for local residents, since most of the metropolitan areas of France (not just Paris) suffer from a dearth of affordable rental housing.
There have been rental agencies which ensured the properties they handled paid the taxes and met the building code requirements. (Once when looking for an apt. rental in Paris I saw the most unsafe, barely sanitary
'apartments' for rent which did not meet any of the standards).
There should be a way to verify that an Airbnb listing IS legal...if I can find that, I'll post again.
I rented a 'cottage' (freestanding) in the Montmartre area. It's more residential and the company did follow all the laws (and belong to an oversight organization) so I felt secure the neighbors wouldn't complain about me and call the police.
I've usually rented when I've stayed in rural areas in France and prefer the privacy that a rental offers as well as the ability to plan my day around my schedule and not the chambermaid or provider of petit dejeuner or
being surrounded by other people.
To get a real sense of Paris where residents live and work and shop and eat, do look at some of the posts on this forum. You'll see Paris in a new light...
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/board/46

The situation with Airbnb is the Loi Alur which was enacted to keep rental properties for local residents, since most of the metropolitan areas of France (not just Paris) suffer from a dearth of affordable rental housing.

The standard economist response to this is that, if you control rents, and restrict the freedoms of owners/landlords, then fewer new houses for rent will be built. These are complex arguments, and beyond the scope of the thread, I suspect.

You can find more rentals here: https://www.vrbo.com/

I found this article. http://www.thelocal.fr/20160113/paris-cracks-down-on-illegal-airbnb-flats
It looks like Airbnb has agreed to pay the city for its bookings in Paris and people aren't allowed to rent their apartments for more than 120 days a year

It was not the only case when city's officials decide to initiate some measures against Airbnb hosts. San Francisco where the service was launched was one of the first cities which authorities tried to put limits on renting policy of Airbnb. So called "Proposition". I read about it here https://tranio.com/united-kingdom,germany,spain,usa,france/analytics/airbnb_a_game-changer_for_the_commercial_property_market_4982/

San Francisco is also going to require a business license and require that Airbnb ensure that their renters (the hosts) have
a valid license before allowing the listing on the website. Seems that's always been the case for anyone doing business in
SF, they're just requiring enforcement. And they'll be applying the same law to Lyft and Uber drivers too, but in their case,
they have to report their income.
The theory behind the rental license is that the funds will go toward more affordable housing.

The theory behind the rental license is that the funds will go toward more affordable housing.

Everyone can dream I suppose.

It's a dream until they get the money then it's "we found a better use for it".....but I think you were too polite to say so.

Do not fear taking the metro a lot -- it is very fast, and no matter what, you will never be within walking distance of everything.

and no matter what, you will never be within walking distance of everything.

And on a good day, you should be within walking distance of everything as well.

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