Île Saint-Louis
When planning a trip to Paris, it can be difficult to decide where to stay because there are seemingly endless options. Should you stay on the right bank or the left bank? Close to the Eiffel Tower? Which is the best arrondissement? Paris is an extremely walkable city with an excellent metro system and each arrondissement has something unique to offer, so it’s hard to go wrong. That being said, we found that Île Saint-Louis was the ideal home base for exploring Paris. Not only was it geographically well situated, but it was also a destination on its own merits, and surprisingly is not overrun with tourists compared to other locations in the city. Paris is so popular with international tourists that it’s hard to truly classify anything as a “hidden” gem, but Île Saint-Louis is close.
Location
To give you a high-level overview of how Paris is laid out, the city is essentially one big circle bounded by the aptly named Bd Périphérique. When discussing locations within the Bd Périphérique, you generally refer to either A) arrondissements, or B) left bank vs. right bank. The city is subdivided into 20 arrondissements or administrative districts, which start at #1 in the center of the city and spiral clockwise until reaching #20. The city is also bisected by the Seine River with areas to the north referred to as the “right bank” and areas to the south referred to as the “left bank”. This may seem like confusing nomenclature, but since the river flows east-west, it makes sense. You can use the map below to get a sense for the city’s layout.
Now that we’ve gotten that geography lesson out of the way, how does Île Saint-Louis fit into the equation? First of all, Île Saint-Louis is a natural island located in the Seine River, so it is neither located on the left nor the right bank. It is one of the two natural islands located in the city, the other being the neighboring Île de la Cité which is home to Notre Dame Cathedral. In terms of arrondissements, the island is located in the 4th, an area primarily on the right bank which is home to Notre Dame and the increasingly popular neighborhood of Le Marais.
So what’s so special about this location? Great question. Glad you asked. For one, Île Saint-Louis is sandwiched between one of Paris’ most famous historic districts (the Latin Quarter) and one of the most popular trendy neighborhoods (Le Marais). Many visitors will choose to stay in one of these neighborhoods during their visit, but if you stay on the island, you don’t have to choose. The island is also a short walk to the always popular left bank neighborhood of St. Germain. Here’s how you get to the most popular attractions in Paris from Île Saint-Louis.
Notre Dame – <5 minute walk. You can see Notre Dame from the island.
The Louvre – 1 mile (~20 minute) walk
Eiffel Tower – 20 minutes by metro (1 hour walk)
Sainte-Chapelle – 10 minute walk
Musée d’Orsay – 1.5 mile (30 minute) walk; 10 minute metro ride without changing lines
Sacré-Cœur – 35 minutes by metro (1 hour walk)
It’s impossible to be within comfortable walking distance of everything in Paris, but Île Saint-Louis puts you within range of several of the top attractions in the city as well as some of the best neighborhoods to explore. You’ll probably want to take the metro or Uber to the Eiffel Tower or the Sacré-Cœur/Montmarte, but that’s very easy to do.
History
If you want the full history of the island then we’ll direct you to Wikipedia, but what is most important to know is that the entire island was planned and developed in the 17th century. This means the architecture is A) extremely old by US standards, and B) extremely beautiful and uniquely Parisian. The island was developed as a residential urban oasis for nobles, businessmen and politicians, and remains largely residential to this day.
Restaurants and Cafes
One of the best pastimes in Paris is spending time relaxing in one of the multitude of corner cafes, and Île Saint-Louis has plenty to choose from. When you cross over from Île de la Cité on the Pont St. Louis, you will be greeted with the most famous view on the island. The intersection of Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île and Rue Jean du Bellay is home to four cafes, all of which offer outdoor seating and traditional French cuisine. The breakfast/lunch food is comparable at each cafe, but St. Regis is the best option for dinner. Depending on where you are seated, you may even have a view of the top of Notre Dame. In addition to this iconic intersection, the island is home to numerous other creperies, cafes, and restaurants. If you stayed on Île Saint-Louis for a week, you could eat every meal on the island and leave satisfied.
Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île
Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île is the main thoroughfare that runs the length of the island. It is a narrow one-way road lined with shops, and restaurants and it is a perfect place for a stroll even if you aren’t staying on the island. It is also home to the “best ice cream in Paris” which is served up at Berthillon Glacier. As the world’s foremost ice cream expert I can say that this is excellent ice cream; however, since it was the only ice cream shop we visited, we can neither confirm nor deny that Berhillon is the best in the city.
Hotels
We stayed at the Hotel Saint Louis En l’Îsle and had a great experience, but there are several other places to stay on the island that are just as nice and reasonably priced compared to what you might expect for such a large world class city (the rooms are all tiny, however). Hotel Jeu du Paume is probably the nicest hotel on the island.
In conclusion, Île Saint-Louis offers a little bit of everything for visitors to Paris. Whether or not you choose to stay in a hotel on the island, it is still well worth the visit, and since it is so small, it doesn’t take long to fully explore. The island offers a pure unadulterated Parisian experience condensed into a few narrow streets.
Glad you discovered our little secret. We have visited l’isle twice. It is so hard to believe that it exists. Like a mini-Paris in the middle of the city. In lieu of staying in a hotel where, as you say, the rooms are small, it is possible to rent an apartment. A real estate firm on the island operates like a dispersed hotel performing concierge services and offering apartments for rent all over the island and nearby areas. If interested, you could look up Guest Apartment Services. As you say, Paris is walkable and walking everywhere is a real treat. If you don’t want to stroll the boulevards and explore the side streets, the bus is a great way to get around. It might take a little longer than the metro and waiting for a bus in January might be uncomfortable, but it is nice to see where you are going and not be fighting the crowds in underground stations.
Pingback: Paris in January | Trails Unblazed