Choosing a place to stay when in a foreign country is one of the most crucial skills for travelers. You need to consider not only the cost of a day's stay but also the location and proximity of the apartment or hotel to your destination, not to mention its comfort and safety. Before you get too trusty with your travel sites and booking apps, this comprehensive guide on how to choose a place to stay in Paris will hopefully come in handy to help you not only travel smarter but also stay safer.
There’s a reason why booking sites and apps are famous - it saves us the time that goes to researching for each individual hotel, read the reviews, and sort out information. And it does it fast which gives everybody an advantage by a snap. But if you’re the kind of traveler who sticks to the details and carefully weighs out his or her options, it’s most likely that you’ve already come up with a personal SOP for booking an accommodation.
Not that the usual doesn’t work. It does and is undoubtedly very helpful. The purpose of this outline is to break down the structure of elements and considerations you may want to integrate into your future booking plans, not just to Paris but to any point on the planet.
Is it the location? The kind of neighborhood? The safety of your belongings? The aesthetics? Why are you traveling in the first place?
Determine the goal of your travels whether it is for business or for leisure. Then break down each category into details of priority according to orders of importance. If it is for business, surely you’d want a hotel that is near to the appointment place since most business travels are sponsored by the companies anyway. If you’re traveling for leisure then it follows that you’d most likely want one near the centers of attraction (if in a city) or one that has the best views (such as in the case of private resorts).
Are you traveling alone or with your family? If you’re a soloer or a small group, you will perhaps be more willing to give up little luxuries to save. But if you’re traveling with a family, you’d need to place more importance on safety.
All these are necessary questions that will lead you to a better choice.
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Are you getting the best value for your money? If the best choice is more expensive by a degree without compromising anything, would you be willing to shell out more money? What about if the best choice answers to your primary need but the second best offers more for a smaller price? Would you give in? Within what limits would you be willing to compromise?
Where we place value and categorizing into a hierarchy of importance is a good step that follows identifying your primary need.
Most travelers who are contemplating on the best places to stay have one common error: they only factor in the proximity of their destinations to the accommodation’s location. What most of us usually overlook is to look for details of the neighborhood.
A lot of images can be deceiving. If safety is of high importance in your hierarchy, you should consider this extra carefully. A map isn’t enough. Before you head into a place, it might help to read about its history, what people say about the people and the places and perhaps what customs should be followed - or avoided.
If you can establish communication with a host in the case of home stays, you should ask about the nearby amenities, inquire about the presence of grocery stores, resorts, swimming areas, beaches, etc. A great location will help you have a good time right away!
Travelers look for experience. And for most of us, there’s no better way to experience a place fully than to interact with it - to expose oneself directly into this whole new world of tastes and sights and sounds - and to allow to change and be changed.
That’s why interacting with locals is something many travelers put into consideration when choosing a place to stay. In Paris, for example, an app service that lets tourists and travelers visit and eat in a local Parisian’s home is becoming popular. And why not? It’s a great way to connect the adventurers directly to the treasure house and get the chance to experience the place authentically.
If you’re traveling for travel’s sake, its’ best to keep to the cities where you can make small talk in the local markets, perhaps meet a new friend in the town plaza, or engage in a random conversation with a local in a quaint little cafe in one of Paris’s sweet cobbled streets. Find a place that will take you to experience, whether that’s a splendid cliff jump high in the Alps or a wild jazzy night in the city of lights. One of the most practical tips for choosing an accommodation in Paris - or any other place at that, is ease.
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Are you looking for a luxury accommodation in Paris? A vacation rental near the River Seine? A short term apartment close to one of those Parisian bookstores? If you’re looking online, your search words will matter and show you choices based on your input. Luckily, most travel sites already provide distinctions between the types of accommodations (e.g. bungalow, duplex, etc.) but the quality usually jumps if we make a case for luxury accommodations.
The high-end real estate market offers a diverse range of properties that sometimes are a world away from your typical online travel agency circuit. If price is not a problem for you, make a distinction when you search for it online.
While it’s true that photos can make a tad difference in a renter’s decision, we usually get easily discouraged when there is lacking or only very little information provided. The more we know, the more we feel assured (answering to your need for safety) and we can evaluate whether we’re getting the best value for the price we’re going to pay.
Look for sites that provide thorough descriptions of their properties. This type of conscientiousness says a lot about a provider’s sincerity to provide service to precision.
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In Paris, location is key. Choosing the right place to stay almost automatically puts you in rubbing elbows with the best sights in the city. If you’re lucky, you wouldn’t need transportation as walking would be much more picturesque and reasonable.
If you’re looking to score a great stay in one of Paris’s most magnetic neighborhoods, the following areas are highly recommended.
Saint Germain des Pres. This area is quiet popular and very central to Paris’s most revered attractions. Previously, it has attracted the attention of many literary and visual artists such as Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. It’s a vibrant district where you can find designer stores, culture-specific cuisine, quintessential Parisian cafes, and a lot more including bookstores and antique shops. Though the area has rapidly changed throughout the years, much to the dismay of many local Parisians, the change is also seen as part of the evolving face of Paris. Saint Germain des Pres is located in the 6th Arrondissement between the Latin Quarter and the Eiffel Tower district.
Mouffetard. Rue Mouffetard is one of the oldest streets in Paris. Located in the 5th arrondissement in the Latin Quarter of the city, this street is only as beautiful as it is old. It is said that there has been roads here since the Romans - that was way back 2000 years ago. Today, it is home to some of the most interesting curiosities for tourists and locals. The Mouffetard Market is one of the most frequented here, a great place to purchase local food, perhaps some picnic items, or groceries if you want to cook your own meals.
The Louvre Area. Within the perimeter of the famous pyramid-shaped Louvre Museum, you can find many other attractions that you might want to stop by if you don’t want to brave the crowd of tourists in the famous landmark just yet. You can visit the Statue of Molière, the most famous playwright in the French language at 40 rue Richelieu, take a detour to the Comédie-Française at 1 Place Colette, admire the majestic buildings of Palais Royal at 8 Rue de Montpensier, and enjoy a nature walk at Tuileries Garden located at 113 Rue de Rivoli. The Place de la Concorde located at the 8th Arrondissement in Paris is another worthy stop.
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Marais. If you want to experience the Medieval feel of Paris, Le Marais is the place to go to. This district is what most of Paris looked like before Napoleon came. In this historical district, you can find lots of shops, some really nice galleries, and great places to eat and drink. Here, you can also find the oldest China towns in the city.
Montorgueil. Montorgueil is a lively street bustling with activity. The place is a favorite among both locals and tourists who are drawn to its vibrant atmosphere. You can find tons of local shops, the market sells fresh food, and there are bars and bistros, not to mention amazing restaurants to explore. The market here takes place on Tuesday and Saturday to commemorate the old Les Halles. The event is frequented by many Paris chefs.
Champs Elysées. Hailed as the most famous avenue in the world, the Champs Elysées is unsurprisingly also one of Paris's busiest. Stroll along the massive sidewalks with their elegant facades and leafy plane trees. This busy avenue which once was a prestigious meeting point among politicians and intellectuals now features global upscale designer shops such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Tiffany & Co., and Abercrombie & Fitch.
The Golden Triangle. The Paris Golden Triangle is a hot spot for travelers who are in Paris exclusively to shop. The famed triad can be found between the Avenue Champs-Élysées, the Avenue Montaigne, and the Avenue George V. It is a haven for designers and fashion lovers alike. Within this heart of high-end shopping, you will find the best in haute coutoure and ready-to-wear luxury fashion. The world's top brands from the likes of Dior and Gucci to Hermès and Berlutti have their doors open for business within this posh district.
Madeleine. The Madeleine area is one of the richest neighborhoods in the city, a pleasant place in Paris most known for the Eglise de la Madeleine, an old parochial church that is imposing in architecture and truly marvelous up close. If you’re looking for something exceptional, La Madeleine is home to luxury shopping and prestigious cuisine.
Passy. Passy is one of the quieter districts in the city, with many of the tourists prefering the trendier La Marais. But if you want to see Paris in a softer light, still with its glitz but far from the usual tourist buzz, this is the place to be. It's a great place for luxury shopping as well and for travelers who like museums, there are more then 10 in just a 15-minute perimeter.
Taking your need for privacy, safety, and comfort into consideration, All Luxury Apartments diligently put together a set of criteria that will help evaluate whether an accommodation is capable of meeting these common primary needs. Then we set forth to identify homes and properties that meet such needs. We’ve filtered through hundreds and thousands of properties to create a compendium of hosts that not only meet the criteria but are actively seeking techniques to adapt to the changing demands of travelers all over the globe.
In Paris alone, ALX has an impressive portfolio of private homes, apartment accommodations, and vacation condos for rent. Simply browse through our list of homes and you will find not only topnotch homes but the most exclusive ones in the city - all for a competitive price with value added repeat customer advantages.
For your Paris accommodation, we have a diverse selection of local homes that accommodates solo sojourners to families, located in the most coveted neighborhoods right at the center of action.
So if you’re on the most important quest of choosing an accommodation in Paris, here is the best place to start.
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