Anonymous wrote:Avoid the Latin Quarter (Arrondissment 5). Very touristy.
On our last trip we rented an AirBnB apartment in the upper Marais, near Republique. In many ways this was ideal as it meant we were walking distance of everything in the Marais, including its cafes and restaurants, but removed enough to avoid the tourist hordes around where we were staying. The Upper Marais also borders a largely immigrant area. There were many metro stops within a few minutes' walk and allowed us to get anywhere in Paris fairly easy, and a fabulous Vietnamese restaurant just around the corner.
The other non-touristy area would be the 7th Arrondissment, around the Musee Rodin (lovely). This is classic 19th century French boulevard territory. Expensive. Think Park Avenue in NYC. But the downside is that it's not necessarily endearing to tourists, just like staying on Park Avenue wouldn't necessarily be fun for visitors to New York.
I don't know where the arrondissments officially begin and end but the area around the Jardins du Luxembourg is quite lovely and south of it you encounter proper everyday Parisian neighborhoods (14th Arrondissment, I believe).
Be aware that if your goal is to dine well, whether high or low end, Paris is not the land of equal opportunity when it comes to restaurants. Review and select wisely. Not all pastry shops are equal (despite having comparable prices). Not all restaurants are equal.
Very good advice. Personally I wouldn't stay in the 7th for the reasons stated- feels like Park Avenue, which is not an area I would like to stay in New York.
Jardin du Luxembourg is wonderful, but staying south of it might put you just a little too far outside of where you want to be. I would recommend staying just to the northwest, near the Saint-Sulpice or Sevres-Babylone Metro stations. Even just that few blocks south of Blvd St-Germain, the tourist crowds thin, much like being in the upper Marais. Being walking distance to Luxembourg, but close to a few Metro lines, is a good middle ground. You would also be just a few blocks to the original Poilane boulangerie on rue du Cherche-Midi. Nothing wrong with that.