Last minute trip to Paris - Hotel/neighborhood recommendations?

We stayed at the Hotel Residence des Arts in 2019 and loved it. Spacious rooms and great location!

Enjoyed a fine and most excellent stay at Hotel Mistral in the 14th on Rue Cels. Montparnasse Sta, Rue Daguerre market street, Montparnasse Cemetery and Les Catacombes all right there. Hotel is boutique-like (37 rooms), wonderful staff, renovated oozing Parisian history, charm and loveliness. Also checked out the Vanves marche´ aux puces which was great fun.

Been 4 times in 3 different neighborhoods……quit taking the Metro after trip one because we love to walk above ground and see everything……1) Hotel Lutece in the Isle St Louis…….THE BEST because you are so centrally located and can get everywhere you want quickly….nothing like staying in the heart of Paris 2) Westin Hotel Vendome……loved its beauty but the location was a little far out for us….we ended up walking everyday back down to the Marais where we wanted to be, closer to the action 3) Hotel Empereur…..right by Invalides and a nice area by Rue Cler……groceries, bakeries, laundry but a little far out from the center of Paris…..we are both late 60’s and walked about 8 miles a day in Paris ……we like staying in one place and not moving around….I would also recommend the 10:30 pm boat ride on the Seine down to the Eiffel Tower so you can see it twinkle with all of the lights at night…..about $15 a ride…..you get on the boat at Pont Neuf………

Hotel des Grandes Ecoles - lovely garden area; Latin Quarter.
Hotel de Lutece; Hotel des Deux Iles; Hotel du Jeu de Paume; all on Ile St Louis.
Save the boat tour for a night when not jet lagged.

Hi - I would recommend staying close to center city. The subway system is fantastic and easy. Use that to get around Therefore, if you do plan on using the subway system I would recommend staying near a subway hub that has may lines going out from it. I know Rick Steves like the Rue Cler area for the neighborhood feel. I stayed by the Segure metro in that area. It was off season so it was pretty quiet at night. I think that would be a good area to stay in when you're going but for me it is too far away from the rest of the city. I also stayed across the street from Notre Dame. While the location is good it is not a subway hub and it is tiring walking across the river to the Latin Quarter to eat at night. I also stayed by Pont Neuf in the Latin Quarter. This too was too far away from a subway hub. Lessons learned from the first 3 trips and I stayed in the Latin Quarter at the Albe Hotel. The hotel was really nice. It is right by the Saint-Michel Notre Dame subway hub. That hub has a lot of options to get anywhere in the city. The Les Halles subway hub is on the opposite bank and offers many routes also. I think that area would be great to stay in too. The Latin Quarter has the most dinning options and energy of the city especially at night. The RER train from the airport stops right at the Saint-Michel Notre Dame subway stop. You can get to/from the airport really fast and inexpensive. I would recommend doing the boat tour on your second night.

Since I have more room I'm going to offer a few suggestions. Definitely get a museum pass for the entire time you're there and then use it. Use it when passing by museums covered if you're just walking by. It also save time skipping lines at some places. Musee D'Orsay is a great art museum. I liked it better than the Louvre. Napoleon's tomb is impressive. Musee Rodin is a quick stop. Luxembourg Gardens is fun to see and relax. Moulin Rouge was fun to see on the outside.....too expesive for me. Saint-Chapelle has some fantastic stained glass. The Conciergerie is not that good......but a great place to get your museum pass because the lines aren't too long.....then go in for a quick view and go to Saint Chapelle. Since you're there for a few days I would plan to go outside the city for a day. Take the train out to Giverny (Monet's home), or to Versailles, or to some other place. It is fun and easy to go outside the city by train.

Where ever you stay......SUBWAY HUB.

For only 5 days, I'd stay put. Maybe do a day trip as previously suggested. Lots of good suggestions already for hotels. We prefer to stay in the Latin Quarter. Oodles of restaurants, cafes and bistros. The Luxembourg gardens to relax in. Good metro connections. Our favorite hotel so far is the little Hotel des Grandes Hommes. A boutique hotel across the street from the Pantheon.

And I agree that the Seine cruise is best done after sunset, and definitely NOT on your first day.

We stayed at the Hotel Residence des Artes in Nov. 2019 and loved it. That was our 3rd trip to Paris. Hotel is very small and charming, but the Jr.Suites are huge. Perfect location in the St. Germain area (oldest part of Paris). Metro and RER stops are half a block away. Cute cobblestone streets nearby, tons of shops and restaurants. Easy walk to the boat ride at Pont Neuf. Take the evening boat tour, but not a dinner cruise.

With 5 nights, I would not split your time up. Plenty to see in Paris. Versailles is a great day trip, and very easy from the St. Michel RER station around the corner.

Another vote for Hotel de Lutèce and Hotel des Deux Iles. Highly recommend. Great location, on a little island (Ile St Louis) next to Notre Dame, surrounded by the Seine river, amazing views, super charming, fun stores, good cafés and places to eat.