Typical Paris

Have you seen the movie Midnight in Paris? Did you like any of those neighborhoods? The filming locations can be identified, right down to the street, if you want to stay in one of those.

Did not see that film. I will check it out. Thanks.

You might also pay a visit to your local Library and try to find a copy of the Rick Steves Paris or France guidebooks. They provide good descriptions of the various areas in Paris, and suggestions for reliable accommodations in those areas. There's also a LOT of other good information such as the best times to visit museums, ways of avoiding queues, getting around on the Metro, etc. You might find it helpful to pack along a copy of one of the books, as it will provide you with a lot of good information.

Much of Paris looks like this; for a first time visitor I would choose the St. Germain area near the river (6th), the Latin Quarter (5th) or the Marais (4th) or perhaps the Ile St. Louis in the middle of the Seine. Montmartre near Lamarck Caulaincourt metro is also picture perfect but not terribly convenient for a first trip. There are little cafes and shops and parks everywhere in Paris and everywhere is close to a metro.

The Latin Quarter is no longer listed in the RS guide, which I think is too bad. We'd bought the 2014 edition and it listed Hotel des Grandes Ecoles in the Latin Quarter, which we totally loved. They fill up many months in advance and recently changed their online system to allow 6 to 9 mos advance bookings. The courtyard really looks like what you see in the photos. Staff very helpful, breakfast delicious. Within 5 minutes' walk are several modest-price eateries and one very nice restaurant, Le Volcan. http://www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com/

Hotel des Grande Ecoles is a treasure except in summer where we once spent a night in a room that was 100F in the afternoon and didn't cool down enough to be comfortable at night. The garden is a delight, but their upstairs rooms a sweat box. The general area is pretty and the garden really is nice -- you can buy an expensive continental breakfast there or later in the day bring back take out or sandwiches for lunch or cheese and wine for aperitifs before heading out for dinner. They will refrigerate your wine and provide glasses.

Not a good place for summer though when AC is a must if you have a heat wave.

I agree with the areas that janettravels identified. I would not recommend Montmartre. It is too far out of the way for a first visit. The closer you can get to the river the better.

I completely agree with Andrea and Janet and would recommend the same for a first or second time visitor... the 5th, 6th or the Marais (my fave), which is in the 4th. The RS guidebook is a bad source for where to stay. Rick only describes a very tiny portion of Paris and leaves out 90%. His favorite area, which he has hyped for decades, is the 7th and that's why it's filled with Americans.

Get a really good map of Paris, with the arrondissements clearly marked, and find Nôtre Dame... that's the most central area of Paris.

Midnight in Paris (now on Netflix) was mostly filmed in certain parts of Montmartre, and I agree that that area is not ideal for a first time visitor. As someone above already said, lots of Paris is as charming as those parts of Montmartre.

There is a small square in Le Marais (4th arrondissiment) called Place du Marche Ste. Catherine, which I think looks like the Paris you imagine when you are dreaming about Paris. It is a block off Rue St. Antoine and the St. Paul Metro station. There are several cafes around the square and it is just picturesque. There are some hotels in the neighborhood, including Hotel Caron, which is on Rue Caron, adjacent to the square. There are also lots of shops, cafes, bakeries, etc. on Rue St. Antoine and Rue du Rivoli. Check it out on Google Maps.

I was thinking of the scenes filmed in the 5th, like the steps of the Church St. Etienne du Mont, where the car picks up Gil.

http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/10-amazing-locations-from-midnight-in-paris.html/?a=viewall

All locations are listed here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/locations

I don't see Montmartre (18th) among them.

Thanks a lot for sharing these tips guys, I will be visiting France with my kids next summer. I am really excited. Lots to see but limited time. I have to start planning things out.

Sasha, I apologize. I'd always heard it was mostly filmed in Montmartre and assumed that was true. You know what they say about assuming...
I just checked out your first link, fun, thanks!

You can see the street where the car from the future pick ups Gil in Midnight in Paris towards the end of this post:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/interesting-paris-churches-off-the-beaten-track/
We had fun seeking it out; it is a beautiful evocative spot. And the church is quite interesting.

I agree with 4th, 5th or 6th. Even though the metro works well, there is something special about walking to your days' sights.

Susan---no worries, some scenes do look like Montmartre, so that was entirely plausible. I just remembered that the scenes I loved were filmed around the 5th, in the Latin Quarter. I actually tracked down that street and found a hotel in that neighborhood where we could stay a few years ago---and then our plans changed and we did not visit Paris after all.

I think it is time to watch the movie again---we need a "feel good" movie these days.

Good idea Sasha 😊 I did just watch it again, 1st time since it came out, and really enjoyed it... but ugh, that fiancée!
Clever you to find a good hotel on that street, something to look forward to next time!

If you haven't seen Paris Je T'aime get that too. It is a series of vignettes shot by various directors and some are stupid and some quite touching. The one where an American middle age postal workers has saved for her dream vacation in Paris is totally charming; she narrates it in leaden French that any American with slight understanding of French can understand as she speaks with a stolid midwestern accent. Lovely intro to Paris.

Yes, what Janet said about watching Paris, je t'aime - the postal worker vignette (I think it's the last one) makes me tear up every time I see it. It's brilliant.

Paris has lots of neighborhoods like you describe, but I agree with others that your best bets are in the 4th, 5th, and 6th arrondissements. We loved the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles on a long visit years ago (in September, not too hot). It's near Place Contrescarpe in the Latin Quarter. But there are many other choices there and elsewhere.

Google Earth can be set to show hotels, linked to their websites, enabling you to find good candidates "from the air." Then its "street view" feature lets you zoom in to view the hotels and surroundings at street level. This should help your search.

I can't believe the new RS guidebooks leave out the Latin Quarter hotels. It's a great neighborhood for sightseeing, with good dining options and transportation connections. Maybe someday Rick will focus only on Rue Cler to save us all time and trouble! ;-)

look @ hotel 3 colleges near the Sorbonne
near St Michel
residential street - easy walk to the Seine & Notre Dame, Marais
cafes around the corner

Once you have selected your area and potential hotels, use Google Earth street view to "walk around" the area to make sure it is what you are hoping for. You can also use that to scope out potential routes to metro stations.

If you just want to see the "Midnight in Paris" intro of Paris, without watching the whole movie, it is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JABOZpoBYQE