Should You Split Your Visit between Different Neighborhoods?

If you're visiting Paris for a week or more, should you consider splitting your stay between two or more neighborhoods so that you can experience different parts of the city?

In the Sunday edition of my free Paris Discoveries Newsletter, I answer reader questions about Paris travel. Recently, readers have asked whether it makes sense to move from one Parisian neighborhood and hotel to another when time permits.

This article is part of the Paris Discoveries Q&A Archive and brings together my answers based on my own experiences with staying in multiple neighborhoods on longer trips.

You'll find advice about whether splitting your stay is worth doing, how to choose best-for-you neighborhood combinations, hotel suggestions for several popular areas, and.

I've lightly edited, expanded, and updated my original answers, included a few practical tips for making the move from one hotel to another easier, and added photos to make this a more complete Paris travel resource.

Ellen's Question about Plein Air Painting

Paddle boat on a lake in Bois de Vincennes, a popular spot for plein air painters

Ellen's Question:

I am renting an apartment in Paris for the month of September. I am an artist and will be painting en plein air.

Do you know if there is a group of Plein air artists that I might be able to join on occasion? It would be a fun way to meet other artists and make friends.

Susan's Answer:

That is a great idea to find a group where you can connect with other artists and make some friends.

Although I've seen plein air painters in a variety of outdoor locations in Paris, they've always been alone, but I would imagine groups do exist.

I'm thinking that unless you're fairly fluent in French, an English-speaking group might be what to look for.

I don't know where to find one, but here are a few organizations you might contact for possible leads:

American Women's Group in Paris - A social, educational, and cultural group for English-speaking women in Paris
WICE - An all-volunteer group which provides opportunities for English- and French-speaking members to meet and socialize
Meetup - This is the Paris branch of the international Meet-Up group, which isn't really a group at all but just a way to post meetups. I see, for example, a drawing meetup at the Cluny Museum in a couple of days - I'm assuming there will also be others throughout the year. (The Cluny is one of the places where I've see artists with easels - outside only, though.) The meetups are probably mostly in French, but some do appear to be in English. You could even post a meetup yourself for what you have in mind - there's a link to do that on the bottom right of the home page.

Where to Find French-Speaking Social Groups in Paris

Canal Saint-Martin, in Paris's 10th arrondissement — Attendees at the Masked Ball at Versailles

Debra Asked:

I'm an intermediate French speaker looking for opportunities to use my French in Paris. For example, groups for artists, maybe a sip and paint, a walking tour, a visit to a garden centre, a group for older women. All in French. I'd appreciate some ideas. In theory, there are Meetup groups but these are rare, or I can't find them.

Susan's Answer:

So, good news: There are actually a lot of Meet Up groups in Paris, but (bad news) until you're actually in Paris (or at least in France) when you search, you may not see many of them. The meetup.com website appears to have a geo-location algorithm running, based on where you're located when you search.

I've tried searching for Paris events about 3 times since I first received your message, and each time I get a different quantity of listings.

By trial and error, I've found that if I use this - https://www.meetup.com/fr-FR/find/fr--paris/ - to search, the French version appears for about half a second before switching to English. However, this does (at least, tonight) bring up listings for groups in French in apparently unlimited quantities.

For example, I can see art groups, language groups (I have a French friend who belongs to one of these - from what I gather, they drink wine and challenge each other to correctly use esoteric verb tenses), multiple sports groups, at least two, maybe 3 philosophy groups, a movie night group, game groups, a "new in town" group, and here's one called "Why are we so Stressed? An inquiry into the self," a meetup about the future of technology - well, you get the idea. A few of the groups are in English but most are in French (and a couple of other languages). I think I've scrolled through about 300 since I started answering your message.

However, on the two other occasions when I searched in English, I got maybe 30 listings total, and at least half were clearly in English or other languages.

If all else fails, try again once you're in Paris, and therefore the right location.

A couple of other ideas:

Most of the mid-sized to large museums offer free lectures and tours for their French-speaking patrons. Usually you can see them listed on their websites. I go on them periodically, most recently at the Pinault Collection (highly recommend that one - they asked me if I was interested as I walked in).
There are lots of other types of tours - walking tours, cooking classes, museum tours, etc. offered in French through booking platforms such as Get Your Guide and Viator. They also use geolocation so if you're in an English-speaking location, they'll display in English. But if you enter something like "Paris tours in French" in the search bar, they'll display a bunch of tours in English but if you click on the button that shows languages (in Get Your Guide, for example, it's right above the blue "check availability" button near the price information), you can click on the dropdown arrow to get a list of other languages.

My "Rule of Thumb" for Splitting a Paris Stay Between Neighborhoods & Hotels

Because changing neighborhoods always takes me a minimum of about 3 hours between packing, checking out of the hotel, getting to the new location, checking into the new hotel, and unpacking, I typically don't split my stay when my total time in Paris is 8 days or less because I'm unwilling to give up those 3 hours that I could spend enjoying the city.

On the other hand, there are also times when I book a trip close to the last minute, which makes finding hotel availability in the location I want for more than a few days in a row can be challenging. In those cases, I try to find reservations that give me at least three nights in one place.

Can You Recommend a Photographer for an Eiffel Tower Photo Shoot?

Michele Asked:

I'm going to be in Paris the second week of April and wanted to hire a photographer for a photo shoot. Do you have any suggestions on a company or an individual to hire?

I want to focus my shoot around the eiffel tower and take advantage of the cherry blossoms being in bloom, but do you have any specific location recommendations in that area?

Susan's Answer:

There's a link to a small group of photographers whose work I like in this article: https://www.parisdiscoveryguide.com/cherry-blossoms-in-paris.html

It's in the section fairly close to the top labeled "Cherries in Bloom by the Eiffel Tower" and the link itself (Book a VIP photoshoot with a professional photographer) is right above the photo of cherry blossoms by the Eiffel Tower.

The best spot for cherry blossoms around the Eiffel Tower is, honestly, wherever the blooms happen to be the best when you're shooting combined wherever the light is best.

Cherry blossoms are tricky in terms of when they bloom and the weather determines how long as well. The pale pink ones in the photo near the links in the article don't bloom long, but across the river from the tower, there are a number of the deep-pink Kwanzan cherries that usually have a longer bloom time - you can see those closer to the top of the article.

When you book your session, let the photographer know what you want. They're out there with their cameras every day, so they'll know where the flowers are best, as well as the best angle in terms of lighting. A big part of their job is to make you (and the cherry blossoms plus the Eiffel Tower) look good, so they've had a lot of practice in figuring it out.

Can You Suggest a Unique Birthday Surprise?

Amber Asked:

Hello! My husband and I are visiting Paris from December 26th to January 2nd with another couple. We are celebrating my husband's upcoming 40th birthday. We would love suggestions for a small or unique birthday surprise.

Susan's Answer:

Without knowing your husband and what he likes/doesn't like, here are a few only-in-Paris ideas:

Take a ride on the big Ferris wheel at the Tuileries Christmas market, and then stop by the market's Champagne bar to toast his 40th
Sign him up for a photoshoot by the Eiffel Tower (you can be in a few of the photos too)
Get him a fancy cake from a bakery and sing “Happy Birthday” in French as you present it to him (if he doesn't know French, you can make up any of the words you forget)
Buy him a cute beret at one of the ubiquitous souvenir stores along the Seine; don't mention that the only people who actually wear them in France are older men on Brittany coast and Emily in Paris fans (if he asks if it's a gag gift, keep a straight face as you say, "of course not!")

How to Choose Your Own Paris Neighborhood Combination

Are you interested in splitting your Paris stay between two or more neighborhoods in order to get a broader sense of the city, but wondering which ones to choose?

One approach is to start with your interests, and combine neighborhoods where you'll a variety of experiences linked by a common theme.

For example:

For museums: Louvre/Les Halles + Marais + 7th arrondissement + Trocadéro (16th)
For art galleries: Upper Marais (3rd arr) + Saint-Germain + 7th arr
For a village vibe: Montmartre + Latin Quarter + Batignolles (17th arr) + Passy (16th)
For a trendier/contemporary vibe: Oberkampf (11th) + Canal Saint-Martin (10th)
For a medieval vibe: Latin Quarter + Marais
For food markets/cafés/shopping: Upper Marais + Sentier (2nd) + Saint-Germain + Ternes (8th)/Batignolles