Marais or Latin Quarter?

Leaving for Paris in May and haven%26#39;t booked my hotel yet. I am debating between the Marais or Latin Quarter. What do fellow trip advisors prefer? And why?

I am traveling with my husband - this is a nice long weekend getaway for us. Thanks for your feedback.

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I like both areas .

I would recommend you get reserving now because it is getting late to ensure you get what you want.

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Paris is small. Those two areas are not far from each other. You can even walk from one place to another.

Latin quarter is definitely nicer and closer to Luxemburg Garden, Pantheon, St Michele. More expansive as well. On the other hand, I think the Marais is a bit of a bo ho chic. There are more restaurants and shops in the Marais. A bit cramped though. The Marais is definitely more fun at night. Also, it is closer to the ponts(bridges) like pont des arts and pont neuf. These places are definitely nicer and more fun at night.

I would pick the Marais over LQ.

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Thanks for your feedback. I also heard that some parts of the Latin Quarter (are overrun with some tacky tourist shops and not truly that Parisian with recent immigrant influxes). Is that true? Perhaps, it%26#39;s only a few streets like that?

Per suggestions, I am looking at the Marais area - with an eye for Hotel Axial Duo - which is suppose to be by the Hotel de Ville metro and right across the BHV department store. Seems central? Any thoughts to this specific area in Marais?

Also, a friend of mine suggested the Montemarte area (Terrass Hotel)- however, it seems a bit off-center. Only staying a few days, so convenience is important plus atmosphere. So, any additional opinions would be appreciated. I hadn%26#39;t thought about the Montemarte area is my base.

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I%26#39;m not sure what you%26#39;re really inferring about the Latin Quarter, but I find it is still a nice district to stay. Parts of it has souvenir shops mostly along the quay by Notre Dame and also by Blvd. St. Michel. Yes. There are lots of tourists staying there, but it%26#39;s because it%26#39;s not as expensive to stay there as in other districts. In fact, you%26#39;ll find tourists staying pretty much in the central districts anyway.

The Marais is a nice area. It isn%26#39;t a quiet area but there are no souvenir shops as in the Latin Quarter if that%26#39;s a huge issue. I personally would prefer staying on rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie or nearby but not around the Hotel de Ville.

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To follow up on your post. Yes, the Marais is better with all the shops and restaurants. A bit noisy. Unfortunately, it is partly true that some parts fo the latin quarter is with tack shops selling souvenirs. On St. Michel blvd, there are starbucks and two McDonalds. It is unfortunately fact about globalization.

Hotel de Ville (it is beautiful city hall) Metro is really central to almost eveyrthing. To see the surrounding of your hotel, you can try www.pagesjaune.fr. There you can type in the address and it will show you the pictures of your place.

…pagesjaunes.fr/ciweb2g-ved/plan/AfficherPag…

Hope this helps

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Thanks for your expert feedback! It%26#39;s helpful to know that the Latin Quarter may be a good possibility. In the Latin Quarter - any thoughts on the area around %26quot;place Sorbonne%26quot; - there%26#39;s a hotel called %26quot;Select Hotel%26quot; located on 1 place Sorbonne that seems to be a good possibility. Thoughts on the surrounding area??

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yep .. perhaps i can help you .. i am french , living around Paris .

to answer you is not easy if i don%26#39;t know what you are looking for ..

but i try .

Latin quarter is a very busy place , with young people everywhere , it is the students quarter. It is a very popular place where you can find many little hotels , little restaurants with food of almost everywhere at any moment of the night , it is rather noisy , still, you have many places of interest at walking distance around : jardin du luxembourg , hotel de ville , les quais de la Seine , etc..

the Marais is a beautiful quarter , more expensive .. %26#39;plus chic%26#39; ! more quiet too .. with a wonderful place : %26#39;place des Vosges%26#39; ..

i hope i could give you a bit light .. but if you have any questions , just ask :) greetings

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To SD Wanderlust: Thank you for your helpful link - very cool to see the aerial image! And yes, I looked up the Hotel Ville Metro map and it seems to be a good central spot. And the city hall is beautiful.

LOUGIR: Thanks for your candid area descriptions. Latin quarter sounds like a fun place to visit, but perhaps a bit too hectic as a base. I checked out Place des Voges - nice. I%26#39;ll have to visit.

Best on both of your feedback - my search is over - I am going to stay in the Marais and just contacted the Hotel Duo and they kindly gave me the low season rate- which makes the decision even better! : )

Probably should start a new forum topic on this - but would love to hear your favorite places to eat in Paris. Price range not an issue - will eat at hole in the walls as well as enjoy fine dining. Just looking for great French food. Many thanks for your participation in this forum.

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LOUGIR -

Welcome to the forums! It%26#39;s always good to have the perspective of someone who actually lives in Paris. I hope we will hear from you often. As for your descriptions of the Quartier Latin and the Marais — je suis tout à fait d%26#39;acoord!

BwP -

If you use the search box on the right above the posts and the keywords Marais restaurants you will find (or should) a lot of posts. Most recently there was a thread on the topic something like %26quot;Apartment in place du Marché Ste. Catherine%26quot; that contains a number of suggestions. You should find it fairly easily. if you are having any difficulty the keyword Jarente will pull it up I think. Of course the fact that you are staying in the Marais does not mean that you need to confine yourself to that part of Paris for dinner — let alone lunch.

Just for the benefit of future readers of this thread, we stayed in the Select a few years back and I was not terribly impressed. (It was a short notice trip and the Select was one of the few places I could find with an available room otherwise I wouldn%26#39;t have been staying in the L.Q. at all.) Nothing particularly bad about the place, but our room was small even by Paris standards (perhaps because it was a last-minute booking we might have been given one of their smmallest rooms) and I found the staff somewhat unhelpful and lackadaisical in their attitude. I thought the hotel was over-priced though if you want to be in one of the busiest (and noisiest) parts of the LQ the location is perfect! For the price there are certainly better places IMO — and a good place to look for them is the Marais!

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I would choose the Latin quarter every time, especially for a weekend trip. Nothing can beat a lazy Sunday morning enjoying a continental breakfast and reading the papers at a sidewalk cafe in the Latin quarter. Plus you are closer to the Eiffel Tower and the Jardin Anglais, not to mention the Tullieres (probably mis-spelt) garden.

Also you can visit a very good restaraunt there called Le Pettit Prince. See virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/France/Ile_…

Best regards,

Nick.