Where to Stay in Paris With a Family

Figuring out where to stay in Paris with a family really comes down to one choice: picking the right arrondissement. We have stayed in a few, and the neighborhood you land in shapes the whole trip, from how far little legs have to walk to what is open when you need breakfast. Here is where to stay in Paris with a family, the areas we love, and why. For the rest of your planning, start with our Paris with kids guide, then see things to do in Paris with kids and our Paris family itinerary.

Best Place to Stay in Paris

We love Saint Germaine and the Latin Quarter (the 6th and 5th arrondissement respectively).  If you are new to Paris, it is helpful to know that the city is divided into 20 arrondissements, or districts.  Each arrondissement has its own vibe and each covers a fairly large area; you can think of them like large neighborhoods.

The Latin Quarter is full of diversity!  There is a university making the population here very youthful, lots of ethnic restaurants, anime shops and adorable winding streets.  It hugs the stretch of the Seine next to The Notre Dame, making both very walkable.  The Latin quarter has several family friendly attractions including the Panthéon, Jardin des Plantes botanical gardens, La Ménagerie (zoo), and the well known Shakespeare and Company bookstore.  You can read more about a few of these attractions on our Paris See & do page.  The Latin Quarter is the best arrondissement to stay in Paris!

Saint Germaine, the 6th Arrondissement, is often referred to as the quintessential Parisian neighborhood by both locals and visitors.  It is the the picture perfect street scene you think of when dreaming of Paris.  It is chalked full of boutiques, fine food stores, delicious restaurants, bakeries and cafés.  It is a food lovers dream neighborhood!  It is also home to the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens, museums and also lines the Seine river directly next to the Latin Quarter.  Saint Germaine is the second best arrondissement to stay in Paris, only because it is a little less diverse and a little more expensive.

Either arrondissement is the ideal place to find a Parisian perfect vacation rental so that you can simply step outside and be immersed in that dreamy Paris lifestyle!

With small kids, it is really important for us to find a home base where we can access most things on foot.  Sometimes navigating the metro with a stroller is more hassle than it’s worth, especially when you have to lug the stroller up and down stairs to the platform (not that we haven’t done our fair share of it!).  Either way, preferable for us to walk.

We always opt for AirBnb’s in Paris.  You get way more bang for your buck and have a lot more options if you want to be in a specific neighborhood.  This time we stayed in a cute one bedroom apartment about 4 blocks from the Seine and on a fairly quiet street.

If we are staying for longer than a week, I always try to book a place with a washer, which this apartment had!  It was clean and modern, which I also love.  The rental operator also provided us with a pack and play for Kaida so Viona could have the pull out couch to herself.

The kitchen was well equipped  with necessities.  We opted to eat a few delicious cheese and charcuterie lunches in, which made us feel like this is what life could be like if we lived here!

This apartment is located on the second floor (3rd floor by American reference) and I made sure it had a lift when I booked it.  It’s not fun carrying luggage, or a stroller up and down several flights of stairs a few times a day.  The lifts in many apartment building are usually not very large.  But this one was big enough for the stroller and one person, or three of us without the stroller.  Daddy was a trooper and usually volunteered to take the stairs!

If you want to check out this vacation rental, visit their AirBnb listing here for more photos and reviews from other visitors.  The kids loved the views from the window and watching people walk by below or the cat that lived in the apartment across the street.

If you are a first time visitor to Paris, these neighborhoods are fantastic options, whether you have kids or not.  Staying in an apartment will make you feel like you are getting a local experience, rather than a hotel.  These neighborhoods are full of fantastic eateries which you can read all about on our Paris Eats page and a perfect home base for exploring many of Paris’ iconic sites which you can read more about on our Paris See & Do page.

Here is a few more photos from around these hoods…

Apartment or Hotel in Paris With a Family?

For a family, we almost always book an apartment. A small two-bedroom in a good arrondissement often costs less than two hotel rooms, and having a kitchen changes everything: early breakfasts before the crowds, a fridge for snacks and milk, and a simple dinner on the nights the kids are too tired to sit through a restaurant. Try to find a place with an elevator. Many beautiful Paris buildings are walk-ups, and carrying a stroller and a jet-lagged toddler up five flights gets old fast.

Quick Tips for Choosing Where to Stay in Paris With Kids

A few things we always check before we book. Stay within a short walk of a Metro station on a line that reaches the big sights, so a mid-day nap retreat is easy. Pick a street with a bakery and a small grocery nearby, because you will use both every single day. Ground-floor or courtyard-facing bedrooms are quieter for early bedtimes. And do not over-index on being right beside the Eiffel Tower: the calmer, residential arrondissements like the 5th, 6th, and parts of the Marais give you real Paris life and are still an easy ride from everything on your list. That balance, more than any single landmark, is what makes a Paris stay work with kids.