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Having spent my last couple of trips to Paris exploring the main sights, I knew I wanted more of a local experience when I returned to Paris last month. Thus, I was delighted to discover Arty Paris, an artsy hostel nestled in the Brancion neighborhood of the 15th arrondissement. From there, I was able to discover local restaurants and sights that I had never before seen, and experience life in a traditional Parisian neighborhood. If you want to live like a local in Paris, Arty Hostel is your perfect starting point.
Location
Paris’ Brancion neighborhood is a pretty neighborhood filled with parks and local stores that has preserved the charm of traditional Paris. From Arty Paris, it is easy to engage in authentically Parisian activities like walking to the old book market, visiting the fish market, and discovering George Brassen’s park, where the famous French singer found his inspiration.
If you’d like to wander a bit farther out of the neighborhood, the cable car, bus, and subway are all within walking distance from Arty Paris. Many of the main sights in Paris are within walking distance from the hostel as well. In fact, I walked from Notre Dame to the hostel, and from the hostel to the Eiffel Tower. It was a bit of a long walk, but enjoyable, especially on a nice day.
Check-In Process / Lobby
As soon as I walked into Arty Paris, I felt comfortable and at home. To my left was a cozy common area with a pool table, couches and other unique furniture, and a guitar hanging on the wall. To my right was the check in counter and a hallway leading to the dining room and kitchen.
Despite checking in almost seven hours later than scheduled due to a mishap with getting my phone stolen (NB: always pay attention to your belongings, especially while riding the subway), I was greeted kindly by the front desk staff when I arrived at the hostel. The check in process took no more than five minutes, and I was given a drink ticket to use at any time during my stay. I was also given a map with useful information on local restaurants and bars. Since I was unfamiliar with the neighborhood, and Brancion is not a commonly talked about neighborhood in Paris, I found the map and guide to be very helpful.
While enjoying a beer on one of the cozy couches in the hostel lobby, my boyfriend found a cute little Parisian bistro called Arthur et Juliette for us to go to for dinner. This quintessentially Parisian cafe had some of the best food I’ve had in Paris. We ordered pasta covered in a specialty French cheese that we had never heard of in the U.S., and of course a side of escargot. Having noticed our clumsy attempts at eating escargot, our waitress kindly offered to show us how the French typically eat escargot. We were grateful and proceeded to finish our plate of escargot with utmost sophistication.
Rooms
After walking all the way from Arty Paris to the Eiffel Tower and back, I was ready to collapse into bed. I was happy to find fresh towels provided by the hostel and a bright and cozy interior decor. Like most hostels, Arty Paris offers dormitory-style rooms as well as private rooms. The private rooms come with a bathroom inside the room, which is a convenience I enjoyed.
In addition to a comfortable bed, the room came equipped with a desk, television, clothes hangers, trash bin, chairs, plenty of outlets, and free wifi.
Best of all was the view from the room. The room had a large window with a small balcony that looked out onto Brancion and street level. I kept the windows open for a while to take in the fresh air as it was a perfectly mild and comfortable day. As I peered outside onto the street, I felt like I was peering out from my own apartment in Paris. All I saw were local, traditional Parisian buildings, without the glam of the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, and in that moment, I was living like a local in Paris.
Breakfast / Kitchen
For breakfast, I decided to stay at the hostel and enjoy their selection of pastries and coffee before heading out to catch my flight at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Breakfast is served buffet style in the hostel’s dining room. The dining room has plenty of seating, and there were only a few other guests in the dining room when I was there.
Behind the dining room is a kitchen area with a refrigerator for guests to store leftover food. The kitchen comes fully equipped with pots, pans, utensils, plates, mugs, and a microwave. There is also a sink with cleaning supplies. While I did not observe any guests using the kitchen during my short stay, I can imagine that this is a great area to meet fellow travelers over a shared meal.
Arty Paris was the perfect base for me to live like a local in Paris. Its location in the center of a traditional Parisian neighborhood helped me feel as if I were a resident in Paris rather than a tourist. The staff were polite, helpful, and accommodating. The ambience was laid-back and welcoming. If you are looking for the perfect local experience while living on a budget, you need not look any further than Arty Paris. Click here to book online now.
Arty Paris
Book Online
Phone: +33 (0)1 40 34 40 34
Email: contact@artyparis.fr
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A big thank you to Arty Paris and Hip Hop Hostels for making our stay possible. As always, all opinions are 100% our own.
I’ve been to Paris twice now, but usually stick to the more touristy neighborhoods. This one looks amazing! The kitchen at your hostel looks amazing. I think of our next trip, we’d like to experience the local life a bit more!
I stuck with the touristy areas my first two times in Paris as well, and I’ve got to say this was probably my favorite experience! Next time I go back I will either stay in this area again or find another local neighborhood to stay in.
This looks like a fantastic trip. Really seeing Paris like a local, the best way to learn about a place
I was in Paris for the 2nd time last December and was exploring the touristy areas all over again. That hostel looks super swanky! I love the pop of colour and would definitely consider staying there the next time I visit.
The pop of color definitely gave the hostel a lot of character! I would highly recommend it for your next visit to Paris. 🙂
What a lovely hostel. Far better then the hotel we stayed in many years ago when we were in Paris. I hope you didn’t have too much hassle with your phone. We always forget how vital it is to our lives these days.
I ended up spending most of the afternoon at the Apple store getting a new phone, so it turned out to be a very expensive day in Paris. 🙁 Things like this happen though, and I’m a lot more careful about my belongings now.
That is a neat little arrangement to live like a local in Paris! Great opportunity to meet fellow travelers over a meal there. I will prefer this any day to the expensive ones in Paris.
I am with you 100%, Indrani. I really enjoyed the ambience at Arty Paris and would love to stay there again.
I loved the kitchen, looks like all the required utensils are there and everything is very clean. Also I liked the fact that the two most important points in Paris is just a walking distance away. I always enjoy ‘living like a local’ on my travels but generally the traditional hotels kill that aspect of travel.
The kitchen was very nice and fully equipped. There might actually have been more pots/pans/utensils there than at my own apartment. I’m not much of a cook, otherwise I would’ve loved to cook a meal there.
I was in Paris recently and also look for a hostel. Wish that I read this post sooner! Such a lovely hostel to stay 🙂
I hope you enjoyed the hostel you ended up at! Would highly recommend checking out Arty Paris for your next trip there 🙂
This looks so comfortable and right in the heart of the city! What a wonderful find in order to explore the city more closely! 🙂 Love the colour burst in the dining area!
I loved the burst of color too! There were some color bursts in the bedroom too, which made the small space feel bigger and brighter. It was indeed a great find. 🙂
I have never been to Paris but if I do, this hostel looks perfect for a local stay. I like the view from the window, a typical non-touristy Parisian scenery. The room looks basic but it’s great to hear that the towels are provided and that the bathroom is ensuite.
Absolutely – the fact that they were able to squeeze an ensuite bathroom in the room is quite impressive. It was the perfect local experience.
What a lovely hostel. 🙂 Paris is my favorite city in the world but I find that hotels and hostels are sometimes waaay overpriced and too touristy. This seems like the perfect location and space to have a real Parisian experience, thanks for the post! Pinterested 🙂