The 5 Best Paris Arrondissements to Stay In (And How to Pick the Right One for You)

Choosing where to stay in Paris can make or break your trip. Pick the wrong arrondissement, and you’ll spend half your vacation on the metro. Pick the right one, and you’ll step out your door into exactly the Paris you came to see.

Paris has 20 arrondissements spiraling out from the center like a snail shell. Each one has its own personality. Some are touristy, some more residential, and some feel like they’re in the back end of beyond. 

After years of visiting Paris and talking to readers about what they loved (and what they wished they’d done differently), five arrondissements keep coming up as the best places to stay. Not because they’re the most famous, but because they give you the Paris experience you actually want.

The 5 Best Paris Arrondissements For Your Trip

To help you make your choice, I’ve broken these five arrondissements down into the activities you enjoy. There’s something for everyone, from the shoppers to the history lovers. 

1. The Latin Quarter (5th Arrondissement): For History Lovers

The Latin Quarter is my absolute favorite. I’m a history gal, so I guess it figures. It sits on the Left Bank and gets its name from the medieval students who spoke Latin at the Sorbonne. The university was founded in 1257 and is still there, along with other prestigious schools.

This is the oldest part of Paris. Romans built their settlement here 2,000 years ago. You can still see the ruins of their baths at the Cluny Museum and the remains of their arena at the Arènes de Lutèce.

The Panthéon dominates the skyline. It was built as a church, became a mausoleum during the Revolution, and now holds the tombs of Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Josephine Baker, and Marie Curie.

Shakespeare and Company bookstore sits near Notre-Dame. It’s been a gathering place for writers since the 1950s. You can spend hours browsing the stacks or sitting in the reading library upstairs. If it’s quiet, you’ll be able to sit and look at the window and see Notre-Dame.

The streets follow medieval patterns. Narrow, winding, cobblestoned. Rue Mouffetard is one of the oldest market streets in Paris and still has food shops and cafés packed onto the hill.

Stay here if: You want to walk where Romans walked, eat dinner surrounded by students and professors, browse academic bookshops, and fall asleep in a neighborhood that’s been the intellectual center of Paris for 800 years.

What you’ll love: The Panthéon, Luxembourg Gardens, Shakespeare and Company, Cluny Museum, traditional bistros, and the student energy that keeps the neighborhood from feeling like a museum.

2. Montmartre (18th Arrondissement): For Artists and Romantics

Another of my favorite places is Montmartre, a hilltop neighborhood in northern Paris. Unfortunately, over Christmas and in the summer, it is completely rammed, which somewhat spoils it.

However, go in the shoulder season, and it’s simply magical. For centuries, it was outside the city limits, which meant cheap rent and no rules, which is why it appealed to the starving artists.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Montmartre was where it all happened. Picasso lived here. So did Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh. The Moulin Rouge opened in 1889, and cabaret culture exploded.

The neighborhood still feels like a village. Narrow cobblestone streets climb the hill, and small squares open up all over the place, eventually leading you to Artist’s Square. Sacré-Cœur basilica crowns the hill, and the white domes are visible from all over Paris. The views from the steps are spectacular.

The real Montmartre is in the side streets. Rue Lepic has the market and local shops. Rue des Abbesses has a stunning metro, and the wall of “I Love You” in 250 languages sits in Square Jehan Rictus.

Stay here if: You want morning coffee at a local café and to walk cobblestone streets that look like they haven’t changed in 100 years.

What you’ll love: Sacré-Cœur, the village atmosphere, local bakeries and cafés, the artistic history, and sunset views over Paris.

3. The Louvre (1st Arrondissement): For First-Timers

The 1st arrondissement is the center of Paris. The Louvre. The Tuileries Garden. Place Vendôme. The Palais Royal.

This is the Paris everyone pictures. Grand boulevards. Classical architecture. Haussmann buildings with their cream-colored stone and wrought-iron balconies.

The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. Even if you don’t go inside, the glass pyramid and the palace are worth seeing. The Tuileries Garden stretches from the Louvre to Place de la Concorde, with fountains, sculptures, and seating.

Place Vendôme is where luxury lives. The Ritz is here. Cartier, Chaumet, and Van Cleef & Arpels have their flagship stores around the octagonal square.

The Palais Royal has gardens surrounded by arcades full of shops and restaurants. The black and white striped columns in the courtyard are a great photo opportunity, and you’ve probably seen them on numerous Instagram feeds.

You’re walking distance to everything. The Seine. Île de la Cité. The Marais. Saint-Germain.

Stay here if: This is your first time in Paris and you want to be in the middle of everything. You want to walk out your door and see landmarks. You want easy access to museums, shopping, and classic Parisian elegance.

What you’ll love: The Louvre, Tuileries Garden, proximity to everything, classic Haussmann architecture, luxury shopping, and feeling like you’re in the Paris of guidebooks and movies.

4. Le Marais (3rd and 4th Arrondissements): For the Hip and Hungry

Le Marais means “the swamp.” That’s what it was before they drained it in the 12th century.

The neighborhood survived Haussmann’s renovations in the 1800s, so it kept its medieval street plan. This is the oldest continuously inhabited part of Paris. Buildings from the 1600s still stand. Place des Vosges, built in 1612, is the oldest planned square in Paris.

In the 1970s and 80s, the gay community established itself here. Then artists and designers moved in, and now it’s the trendiest neighborhood in Paris.

The Jewish quarter around Rue des Rosiers has been here since the 13th century. You’ll find falafel shops, Jewish bakeries, and kosher restaurants. L’As du Fallafel has a line down the block most days.

Le Marais has the best shopping in Paris if you like independent designers and vintage stores. Rue de Turenne, Rue Vieille du Temple, Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. Small boutiques selling things you won’t find anywhere else.

The food scene is younger and more diverse than other parts of Paris. Natural wine bars, fusion restaurants, and modern coffee shops. Museums include the Picasso Museum, Carnavalet Museum (Paris history), and the Musée des Arts et Métiers.

The nightlife here is the best in Paris, with bars, clubs, and late-night spots packed with locals and visitors until 2 am or later.

Stay here if: You want trendy over traditional, or want great food that isn’t just French classics. You want to shop at places your friends back home haven’t heard of. You want to go out at night and not be the only person under 60.

What you’ll love: Place des Vosges, falafel on Rue des Rosiers, vintage shopping, independent boutiques, natural wine bars, excellent coffee, and the energy.

5. Saint-Germain-des-Prés (6th Arrondissement): For the Sophisticated

Saint-Germain-des-Prés is where intellectuals went after the war. Sartre and de Beauvoir held court at Café de Flore in the 1940s, Hemingway drank at Les Deux Magots, and Juliette Gréco sang in the jazz clubs. Boulevard Saint-Germain cuts through the heart of it, with wide sidewalks, café terraces, and people who seem to look effortlessly chic.

The shopping is expensive. Rue de Rennes has mainstream stores, rue du Cherche-Midi and rue du Bac have designer boutiques and antique shops. The Bon Marché department store is here, including the incredible food hall La Grande Épicerie. The Luxembourg Gardens sit at the eastern edge. It’s one of the most beautiful parks in Paris with fountains, sculptures, tree-lined paths, and the Medici Fountain.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés church dates from the 11th century. It’s the oldest church in Paris.

Polidor has been serving traditional dishes since 1845, and Brasserie Lipp is an Art Nouveau institution. You’ll find Michelin-starred restaurants and century-old bistros.

Stay here if: You want to drink coffee where Sartre drank coffee and to feel like you’re part of literary Paris.

What you’ll love: Café de Flore, Luxembourg Gardens, the sophistication, antique shopping, traditional bistros, and jazz clubs.

You can’t go wrong with any of these arrondissements, but matching the arrondissement to what you actually want out of Paris makes the difference between a good trip and one you’ll remember for years.