Places to stay and hotels in Paris

Paris, the French capital, oozes style and charm at every corner and the history and culture of the city is evident on virtually every street and river embankment. Even regular visitors and locals are sometimes overwhelmed at the choice offered by every quarter and every arrondissement (district) of this gem of a city - so where is the best place to stay if you're a first-time visitor to Paris?

It's not such a stretch of the budget or the travel itinerary timeframe to include a trip to Paris in with a trip to the United Kingdom. Visitors to London, for instance, can make the most of their time and have a truly cosmopolitan experience by travelling between the two capitals. There is no need to fly or drive, as the high-speed Eurostar train makes the journey a pleasant occasion, linking visitors from their London hotels to the 'City of Light' all within a mere matter of hours, and all is accessible via the comprehensive public transport networks in each city.

Yet on arrival in Paris it's convenient to have done your "homework" and figured out where exactly you'd like to stay in advance. Though Paris has largely kept its traditional boundaries, and the city is now enclosed by the peripheral motorway, the P riph rique, there is such an abundance to do and see within the city you'll certainly be left scratching your head as to where to stay. Starting from the centre of the city and the first arrondissement, hotel accommodation is of exceptional quality, but this comes with the territory. The first arrondissement is home to popular attractions such as the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens. It also includes the western tip of the le de la Cit , the heart of Roman Paris, and areas such as Les Halles that date back to the Middle Ages. If you're looking to walk straight out of your Paris hotels into a charismatic and bustling Parisian street scene, then the Marais (on the right bank of the Seine), the Latin Quarter (on the left bank) or around Rue Mouffetard is your best bet. The Latin Quarter was the traditionally academic quarter of Paris, and it is still the location of the Ecole Normale Sup rieure, the Ecole des Mines de Paris, the Schola Cantorum, and the Jussieu university campus. Situated between the fifth and sixth arrondissements, the Latin Quarter owes its perculiar name to the fact that Latin, the international language of learning in the Middle Ages, was spoken widely in this area.