Originally Posted by
Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult
She's done a lot of good. Places like Nation was basically a huge roundabout, but by pedestrianising parts of it, it's now much nicer. I don't like the look of the concrete barriers that divide roads into cycle lane parts, but I guess that's the future. But I don't drive and the metro/RER is amazing. You're never more than 5 mins from a station, 10 at the very most. So for me, it's ideal.
And all the nice areas are the same or better. The big "places" de whatever. You'll find delightful bistros everywhere.
16e in posh and pricey. If you can afford that, then fine. But I've always preferred the centre - right bank 4e or left bank 5e - though that's just me. Just like I'd always prefer Hackney to Ladbrooke Grove, for example.
But if I were you, I'd remember how good the metro is and how small the city compared to London. If you're working at La Defence, then anywhere on Line 1 would take you there directly. And that just runs along the right bank through Louvre, HdeV, Bastille etc.
It's roughly 1.5 mins per metro stop. So even Bastille - 16 stops away - is only 23 mins or so.
If you can get a better flat for the money in the centre compared to the 16e, I'd do it. If you have mates in the 16e, it's still easy to visit them, or they you.
And in the middle, you can get everywhere quickly. It's great being able to walk over the islands to all the cheap restaurants on the left bank around St Michel. There's a lovely little restaurant on Ile St Louis which does lots of duck things. 3 people, starter and main, lots of foie gras, cheap carafes of red, €100 for all of us. Confits de canard, magret with foie gras, and for five euros extra, you can have the famous fillet steak and foie gras.
But you'll find all these sorts of places everywhere.
I obviously don't know you as a person, WES. I'm sure you'd be absolutely happy in the 16e. Me, I'd rather save the money, but more than that, I like being central. Cos then you can get everywhere quickly.
You have all the bars and night-life in the centre. All the RERs go through Chatelet-Les-Halles. Close to Gare du Nord. If you want to go to your Montmartre, you're not far away. If you wanted to go to Nation in the NE for a restaurant I know that did 2 dozen oysters and a glass of wine at lunchtime for €20 - I think now €23 - you could of a Saturday lunchtime and then go back and watch the game.
Just to be clear, the centre isn't an area full of crusties, like Hackney, it's still chic. If you want Hackney, go to Belleville.
But the centre has everything and is close to everything else. I stay with my mate at St Paul - between Hotel de Ville {HdeV} and Bastille. In a council flat on the right bank with views of Ile St Louis. So you can find cheaper stuff and even though Rue Royale and Rue Rivoli themselves would be pricey, the streets just off them are a lot cheaper, I'd imagine.
The other thing about the centre is the river. I'm not normally much of a walker, but I just love walking along the river, through the Louvre etc. For example, on the river near me, there's a little bar with tables outside that's open when it's not freezing. And because the river is lower than the main roads that run along the banks, you can sit down there without the traffic noise and pollution.
With these e-scooters that are just left everywhere, if the weather's nice you rent one of those and scoot along the river bank to get to where you want.
One mate did live in the 16e 'till she moved south and it's fine. Chic food shops but normal, decent supermarkets. Comfortable, bourgeois, quiet. And another mate, an Indian diplomat, took me for a lovely Italian there.
But before you decide, see what you can get in the centre, especially places with a good metro connection to work. That will make all the difference. Your near the culture, you have the nightlife, you have cheap bistros and posher places, you have the Frog and Rosbif and hidden sports bars for the games etc, and you have the river - the heart and soul of the city.