Magical Night Walks in Paris

We stayed in the Latin Quarter, about 15 min walk from the Ile de la Cite and Ile St Louis. It was indeed magical to do that walk as the sun was going down. Hotel des Grandes Ecoles was in the RS guide before they decided to eliminate the Latin Quarter from their Paris neighborhoods, and it is a real jewel.
http://www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com/

You can also walk from there to the Pantheon and several other nice destinations, but the view of the Seine lit up, with bateaux mouches gliding by, was really special.

The two islands and along the river to the Orsay, cross the river to the Louvre, and walk back along that side of the Seine. I recommend staying close to the river in the 4th, 5th or 6th arrondissement. You'll be blown away by the sights, truly magical. And din't miss the Hotel de Ville (city hall) across (north) from Ile de la Cité, at night.

I stayed at Hotel des Grandes Ecoles for a month, not bad, but not my favorite.

Difficult question for me; I love the Eiffel Tower so I like to stay in the 15 th arr close enough to walk to the Tower for the night twinkling on the hour until midnight. On the other hand, Notre Dame is fabulous at night from many vantage points. Wherever you stay Go to the Seine and walk, cross bridges and walk some more.

Enjoy Paris.

Ile Saint Louis has 3 decently-priced hotels on the island. They are very close to each other - safe and romantic - when the tourists go home for the night, you'll have the whole island to yourselves.
I prefer Hotel Saint-Louis-en-l'ile, which was renovated recently.

Saving for future reference. Thanks!

My favorite is along the Seine from Pont Alexandre III to Ile St Louis. But you can get there by metro from most areas. Take into account that from April through mid-September, sunset is after 8 p.m. and it isn't really dark until nearly an hour later.

Honey - you're in Paris! They're all magical!

The parks will be closed so I think along the left bank of the Seine, from around Notre Dame area toward the Eiffel Tower. At the top of the hour, the Tower lights up. It's quiet but not deserted and the water is nice. The downside is you might see a small rat or two scurrying along the river. If that's a deal breaker, maybe walk up the Champs Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe?

"Like" for Christi's response... And she's right. Paris itself is magical.

Our most memorable nighttime walk was along the quai on the left bank. The cobblestones kept our pace leisurely. We missed the rats though I'm sure they were around. Closest arrondissements for this would be the 5th or 6th. But Paris is full of beautiful walks, day and night.

We also liked the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles, but it's about 10-15 minutes from the river. There are good hotels closer to the river if that's important to you -- but, other things being equal, proximity to the river = bigger bucks.

I can't imagine why the new RS book would leave out the Latin Quarter hotels. What a shame. Just more work for us to make up for the omission.

I should have added, there is always something going on in Paris. Be sure to visit a TI, even if you think you have all your time planned out, to see what events are happening. One night last fall, they had Blanche Nuit and temporary (one night only) art exhibits all over the city. That made a really nice walk.

Don't know if I mentioned earlier but I think the Marais and the 6th are the best locations. They are walking distance to most of what you want to see.

This may sound dumb, but what is a TI?

Tourist Information

Ahhhhh, thank you Susan! Ok, looking into hotels in your suggested locations now. I am a total planner and don't like to book anything without recommendations! I have heard others recommend those areas as well. Wish me luck!

The view of the Notre Dame Cathedral from behind and on the opposite side of the river is grand. I always see photographers with big giant csmeras there at night! I walk all around the Cathedral and love the gargoyles! The lark behind the church is lovely.