Where to stay in Paris

Le Marais fills the 3rd and the 4th arrondissements around the Place des Vosges, whose brick and stone pavilions stand on the boundary between them. Across the river, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter cover the 5th and the 6th. Both are about 2 km from Notre-Dame.

North of them, the 1st, the 2nd and the 9th hold the Louvre, the Palais Garnier and the Grands Boulevards, about 4 km out. Montmartre climbs the hill in the 18th, where the terrace below the Sacré-Cœur looks over the roofs of the city; it is about 6 km from the cathedral but the closest of these areas to Charles de Gaulle, about 24 km.

The 10th and the 11th run along the Canal Saint-Martin between the quai de Valmy and the quai de Jemmapes, about 4 km from the cathedral. Montparnasse and the 15th sit in the south-west, about 3 km out and about 16 km from Orly, the shortest airport run of the six.

The City of Paris splits street parking into two zones. Zone 1 is the 1st to the 11th arrondissement, zone 2 the 12th to the 20th. A visitor in a light car pays EUR 6 an hour in zone 1 and EUR 4 in zone 2, and the scale rises steeply: EUR 24 for three hours against EUR 16, then EUR 75 and EUR 50 for six. Six consecutive hours on one space is the maximum, and the charge splits into quarter hours.

Since the city reworked its tariffs, weight matters as much as the arrondissement. The light-vehicle rate applies to combustion cars under 1.6 tonnes and to low-emission cars under 2 tonnes. Everything heavier pays the lourd scale: EUR 18 an hour in zone 1, EUR 117 for four hours, EUR 225 for six. A compact hire car sits under the threshold; a large estate, a seven-seat van or a heavy electric model does not. Rental cars for the trip are on GetCar's car rental page for Paris.

If the meter goes unpaid the forfait post-stationnement is six hours at the visitor rate: EUR 75 in zone 1, EUR 50 in zone 2, EUR 225 and EUR 150 for a heavy car. Paid within nine days it falls by 30 per cent; left for three months it gains EUR 50. Because the street caps at six hours, a car staying the night goes into a car park, and the City publishes a map of its concession car parks with each operator's own tariffs.

Paris sits inside the metropolitan low-emission zone, which covers 77 communes within the A86 motorway, the A86 itself excluded, and takes in the boulevard périphérique and both woods. The city says that since 1 January 2025 cars rated Crit'Air 3, 4, 5 or unclassified may not drive there from Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm, with lorries, coaches and buses restricted seven days a week. Petrol cars first registered before 2006 and diesel cars before 2011 are Crit'Air 3.

The Métropole du Grand Paris extended its educational period to 31 December 2026, so checks are informational and no penalty is issued. The sticker can be ordered for a foreign plate for EUR 3.11 plus postage; check the one on the rental. Parliament voted to repeal the articles that created the low-emission zones in the law of 26 May 2026; whether the zone is still enforced was unverified as of September 2026.

The boulevard périphérique has been limited to 50 km/h on every lane since October 2024. Its left lane is reserved from Monday to Friday between 7am and 10.30am and between 4pm and 8pm for vehicles carrying at least two people, along with taxis and buses; it is switched off at weekends and on public holidays. Cameras have issued EUR 135 fines since 2 May 2025.

The taxe de séjour is collected by the host, or by the platform when the platform takes the payment, and the Ville de Paris publishes what it comes to. From 1 January 2026 an adult pays EUR 15.93 a night in a palace, EUR 11.70 at five stars, EUR 8.45 at four, EUR 5.53 at three, EUR 3.25 at two and EUR 2.60 in a one-star hotel, a chambre d'hôtes or a collective hostel. Minors pay nothing. Those figures already include the departmental addition and the two regional additions the State set up.

A flat with no star rating is charged differently: 5 per cent of the cost of the night per person before tax, plus those additions, capped at EUR 15.93 per adult per night. The cost per person divides the night by every traveller, children included.

Every meublé de tourisme carries a 13 character registration number that must appear in the listing. The ministry's 2025 guide set May 2026 as the date registration became compulsory across France through one national portal; whether that portal is live was unverified as of September 2026. A main residence may be let for at most 120 nights a year, and never more than 90 consecutive nights to one guest. A guest who is not French fills in a fiche de police at check-in.

Decide the car first. If the plan is to drive out of the city most days, zone 2 saves a third on every hour at the kerb and the 15th is the shortest run to Orly. If the car is only for arriving and leaving, zone 1 is worth the money because the rest is walkable.

Check the vehicle weight before paying for a large car: crossing 1.6 tonnes triples the street tariff. Compare and book on this page.

A first visit on foot: Le Marais.

The left bank and the river: Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter.

Museums and theatres: Louvre, Opéra and the Grands Boulevards.

The view, and the shortest drive to Charles de Gaulle: Montmartre.

A longer stay among residents: Canal Saint-Martin, République and Bastille.

Cheaper kerb parking and the shortest drive to Orly: Montparnasse and the 15th.