Anyone actually managed to stay near the Louvre with three people on a budget?

[JoeJoe]

Salut,

So I posted a while back about our March trip to Paris (three of us, couple of days around the museum district) and I've been doing more digging since then. The thing is, every time I search for somewhere to stay near the Louvre, I end up on sites that push four-star hotels at 250 euros a night minimum. That's just not happening for us. What I'm curious about now is whether apartments or short-term rentals are actually worth it in that specific area, the 1st arrondissement, compared to just grabbing a basic hotel room. For three people splitting the cost it might change the maths completely, I don't know. Last time I checked on one of the big rental platforms there were a few options around the Châtelet side that looked decent, but reviews were all over the place. Has anyone done this recently, like in the past year? Would genuinely help to hear from someone who's actually been through it rather than just reading listings.

[Muzorewa]

We looked into this in 2024 and city centre hotels are ridiculous. So we did a week in an Ibis Budget (La Villette 19ème) conveniently with a CarreFour supermarket on the ground floor and near Laumière on Metro 5 orange, just inside the Périphérique. The Metro is so cheap you can get to any central location easily. We did the Louvre (before the crown jewels were stolen....), Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, Opéra Bastille, Tour Saint-Jacques, Église Saint-Merri, Jardin des Tuileries, Sainte-Chapelle, Musée Marmottan Monet, Musée de la Musique, Philharmonie de Paris, Montparnasse Tower and Musée d'Orsay. We did this week on the Eurostar so a properly chilled week.

Previously we've taken the Bongo and camped at a place called Camping de Paris on the 16th arrondissement in the Bois de Boulogne area, an easy walk to the Pont de Neuilly tube station (Metro 1 yellow) and you can get anywhere from there.

Bon voyage!

[JoeJoe]

Thanks, that's actually really useful.

I hadn't really considered staying a bit further out and relying on the Metro, but it sounds like it worked well for you. I think I was getting a bit too focused on trying to stay near the Louvre, mainly because we're only there for a couple of days and wanted to be able to walk back in the evening. I came across that guide while comparing different parts of the 1st arrondissement, but it's still hard to tell whether it's actually worth paying the premium. Your experience definitely makes me think we should widen the search a bit. For three of us, even if we spend an extra 20–30 minutes on the Metro each day, the savings could easily outweigh the convenience of being right in the centre.

Appreciate you taking the time to share what worked for you!

[Bob]

Likely quiter a bit further out, too.

[Muzorewa]

Hotel price averaged €114 per night on a B&B basis. The exact rate varied from day to day depending on what may be going on at the time and nearer the weekend. This was all getting close to the Paris olympics too.

Most of the rooms are ok for three adults depending on who you're travelling with....