Best area to stay Paris

Hi. Rick recommends the area around Rue Cler in his guidebooks. I have stayed there a few times on various trips, and really liked the area.
Have a great trip !

"Best" is going to be very relative!

I, too, love the Rue Cler area but many on the forum here find it not central and does not work for them. I love to have the variety of restaurants within a few blocks of my hotel plus I can have wine with dinner and walk myself back to my hotel safely, hahaha!

It takes me about 25 minutes of moderate walking to get to the Musee d'Orsay from the area. The Army Museum is right in the neighborhood. The Seine River is nearby.

I enjoy the Hotel Muguet and the Hotel Relais Bosquet but there are dozens in the neighborhood.

https://hotelparismuguet.com

https://hotel-paris-bosquet.com

There are cafes and restaurants in every neighborhood in Paris. For a central location near a decent number of popular sites if the budget allows, I suggest the Saint Germain and Le Marais neighborhoods. I have had wine and dinner walked back safely to my accommodations in every neighborhood that I have stayed at in Paris,

We like the 3rd or the 6th. Both have tons of restaurants and lodging options and it's close enough to walk to many major sites. We did take a taxi to the Orsay when we stayed in the 3rd, but my husband was recovering from an injury.

The Eiffel Tower is in the 7th but it's not (in my opinion) walking distance to most of the other stuff you're going to want to do. Easy enough to take metro, though, if you can do the stairs.

I like the 3rd, or 6th. But "best" is subjective.

There is no "best" as long are you are in Paris. I would suggest the Marais, specifically the 3rd, but anywhere can work.

For what you are asking, anywhere in the 1st through the 6th would work just fine, as long as you are close to a metro and/or bus stop. All will have plenty of bars, cafés and restaurants. But since the tourist sites are fairly spread out, proximity to the bus and metro is also important, IMO.

My husband and I try different neighborhoods whenever we visit Paris. We just returned from there and enjoyed our stay in the Latin Quarter. We had a hotel on Rue des Ecoles and thought it a great location. Lots of restaurants, not far from the river, near Place Maubert with its weekend markets, the Pantheon, and the Cluny Museum. Notre Dame is about 10 minutes walking and the Louvre about 20.

Thanks !!! Champs Elysees yes or not?? And Opera ??

Champs-Elysees - No, unless you want to walk down a street lined with chain shops...some high end but chains nonetheless. Looking down the avenue from either end (Arc de Triomphe or Place de La Concorde/Tuileries Garden) is visually appealing...it's just the masses of folks on the sidewalks and the stores that don't do anything for me.

Opera Garnier - Yes to visiting (depending on how many days you will be there) especially if you are a Marc Chagall fan. The ceiling he painted is stunning.

verofurca,
As Pam says...Champs Elysees, no; Opera, yes. And a short walk from the Opera is Galeries Lafayette, a neat department store with a beautiful ceiling and terrific rooftop views of Paris.
Bonne chance!

Do you mean visiting the Opera building or staying in the area? Yes to visiting the building but if you are a first time visitor Paris, it might be bit busier and louder than you are expecting. That being said, the transit connections are quite good and there are lots of good hotels in the area.

Personally I wouldn't wish to stay in St. Germain des Pres, or in the vicinity of the Louvre, or anywhere too close to the central part of the Seine in Paris due to the volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and the prevalence of trinket shops and tourist trap restaurants. We too have started to experiment by staying in different parts of town between visits. Several years ago we stayed in the 15th near the Bir Hakeim bridge, with the Eiffel Tower always in view and walking distance away. Good restaurants on the rue de Grenelle. All the same, we discovered that we didn't care to stay in that area again. We've stayed twice in the Bastille, on the edge of the Marais. Transportation options are great. We liked the green space along the Blvd Richard Lenoir and the lively weekend markets there; very close to the Place des Vosges; with the feeling that the area had a good mix of locals and fellow tourists. During our upcoming trip in June we will stay in what I've come to learn is called the South Pigalle.
The Paris Metro is extensive and frequent and will get you around the central part of town no matter where you end up staying. Like other posters have said, there are decent restaurants to be found in probably every district provided you do a little due diligence.

For my first time in Paris I wanted to make it easy for me so I picked an area that a RER-B station was near, for easy access from & to CDG. This area ended up being near the Saint-Michel Notre Dame RER & Metro station & I stayed a few blocks away in the 5th Arr. Later this year will be my 6th return to Paris, 29 nights this time, and I have been making an effort to stay in a different neighborhood each time. So I've been in the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 3rd, & soon to be just outside the 20th Arr. As long as there is a Metro stop w/in walking distance, I'm good.

I would also suggest the 20th. Different and you won't be swamped by tourists. It has a good feel to it. I had lunch last summer in the 20th not too far from its famous cemetery. Revisiting the 20th is on the agenda this summer too.

Best area-- work backward-- decide on what is important to you and set criteria. Then find the places that fit what you are looking for.