Cheap hotels in Paris: which arrondissements to book
Paris is expensive in the middle and much less so a few metro stops out. The city is compact, the metro is dense, and the difference between an address by the Louvre and one by Canal Saint-Martin is mostly price. This guide covers which arrondissements are worth booking on a budget, and how to check the level for your own dates.
By The Hotella editors · Updated
The cheapest decent hotels in Paris are usually in the 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, all on the metro and within fifteen to twenty-five minutes of the centre. Book midweek nights, compare the total for the whole stay including the city tourist tax, and treat the 1st, 6th, 7th and 8th as the areas you pay a premium to sleep in.
Arrondissement by arrondissement, on a budget
The 10th is the classic budget choice. Around Canal Saint-Martin it is pleasant and busy in the evenings; immediately around Gare du Nord it is scruffier and noisier, so read recent reviews and look at which street the hotel is actually on.
The 11th is the safer all-rounder. Between Oberkampf, République and Bastille you get a residential neighbourhood with plenty of restaurants, several metro lines and prices below anything in the Right Bank core.
The 18th splits in two: the slopes of Montmartre are popular and priced accordingly, while the streets north and east towards Barbès and La Chapelle are cheaper and rougher at night. The 19th around Buttes-Chaumont and the 20th around Père-Lachaise and Gambetta are quieter, ordinary districts where the money goes furthest.
The 5th and 13th are worth a look if you want the Left Bank without Saint-Germain prices. The 13th in particular, around Place d'Italie and the Butte-aux-Cailles, is well connected and rarely expensive.
Where you are paying for the address
The 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th are the arrondissements where a room costs the most, and the premium buys a location rather than a better hotel. A three-star near Saint-Germain and a three-star in the 11th are often the same standard of room at very different prices.
If a central address matters to you, the outer edges of the 2nd and 9th, and Bastille in the 4th, are the cheapest way in. They are walkable to the centre without carrying the full Right Bank price.
Costs that are not in the room rate
Paris charges a tourist tax per person per night, set by star rating and paid at the hotel. It is small, but it comes on top of what you pay online, and it scales with the number of guests.
Breakfast is usually extra and is rarely good value in a budget hotel — a bakery on the corner costs less. Check whether the rate includes it before you treat two prices as equal.
Check the current level for your own dates
Advice about areas holds year-round; the price does not. The live price box on this page shows a current total for a real set of dates in Paris, fetched at the moment you load the page, so you can see what the city is actually costing right now.
Run your own dates through the search and compare the totals across a couple of arrondissements before you decide how central you want to be.
Step by step
1. Pick a metro line, not a landmark
Almost everywhere inside the ring road is within half an hour of the centre by metro. Choose an area with a station on a line that runs where you plan to spend your days, and ignore how far the hotel looks from the Eiffel Tower on a map.
2. Start with the 10th and 11th
These two arrondissements have the best combination of price, transport and places to eat. The 10th covers Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est and Canal Saint-Martin; the 11th runs from République down to Bastille and is largely residential.
3. Go further out if you want more room
The 18th around Montmartre, the 19th by Buttes-Chaumont and the 20th around Père-Lachaise sit lower again on price. They are ordinary residential districts with good metro access rather than tourist quarters.
4. Compare the total for the stay
French hotels quote rates in different ways and the taxe de séjour is charged per person per night, usually at the property. The only comparable figure is the total for your exact dates, which is what the prices on this site show.
5. Check what is on in town
Fashion weeks, the big trade fairs at Porte de Versailles and Villepinte, and long weekends lift the whole city at once. Search the week before and after your dates — a large gap between similar weeks means an event.
6. Expect a small room
Budget rooms in central Paris are genuinely small, and a lift is not a given in an older building. That is the trade-off that keeps the price down; noise on a main boulevard is the one that is not worth taking.
Frequently asked questions
- Which arrondissement is cheapest to stay in Paris?
- The 19th and 20th are usually the lowest on price, followed by the 18th outside Montmartre and the 10th. All are on the metro and within about twenty-five minutes of the centre.
- Is the 10th arrondissement a good place to stay?
- Yes, with one caveat. The Canal Saint-Martin side is lively and well served by restaurants and metro lines, while the streets right by Gare du Nord are noisier and less pleasant at night. Check the exact street before booking.
- Is it safe to stay in the 18th or 19th arrondissement?
- Both are ordinary residential districts where Parisians live, but they vary street by street — Montmartre and Buttes-Chaumont feel very different from Barbès or La Chapelle late in the evening. Read recent reviews for comments on the area at night and look at the hotel's position on the map.
- How much is the tourist tax in Paris?
- It is set per person per night according to the hotel's star rating and is collected at the property, so it is not included in the price you pay online. Your booking confirmation states the current amount for your hotel.
- When are hotels cheapest in Paris?
- Midweek nights outside the event calendar, and in the quieter months of January, February, early December and parts of August. Fashion weeks and the large trade fairs raise prices across the whole city.
- Is it cheaper to stay outside Paris and travel in?
- Rarely worth it for a short trip. Rooms in the near suburbs are cheaper, but the extra transport time and fares usually cancel out the saving compared with an outer arrondissement on the metro.