Parisian Living

Left Bank or Right Bank: Which Parisian Are You?

by Paige Bradley Frost
Written By

Paige Bradley Frost

After nearly a decade in Paris, Paige Bradley Frost swapped the Banks of the Seine for the beaches of San Diego, California where she serves as Executive Director of the nonprofit organization, Women's Empowerment International. Still, her heart remains with the French capital where she hopes to one day return. View Paige Bradley Frost's Website

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28 comments on “Left Bank or Right Bank: Which Parisian Are You?

Thanks soo much!! A lovely selection. Beautifully assembled!!

Ok, so I am so happy I googled “left bank or right bank?” I am traveling to europe for the first time in a few weeks, and I have DREAMT of Paris my entire life. Unfortunately (or fortunatly?), we are traveling to Europe with a focus on other areas, so I only get to experience Paris (this time) for two days. SOO…. I am trying to make my short stay as perfect as possible. All your comments and details have been so appreciated!

I don’t think this divide is relevant anymore…the East/West divide is wayyy more to the point. This site has great graphics emphasizing it btw : http://dataparis.io/#

So I’m much more into Eastern Paris 🙂

As for the right/left banks, I like both but I’ll forever be faithful to the left bank, where I grew up (and not in the posh areas).

I would live anywhere in Paris, it does not matter where, but the chance to live there at all, would be totally amazing. I meet Paris in Sept 2013, for the very first time. Love the place.

Patricia Sands

Les deux! I just stumbled upon your excellent post. Merci!

My husband and I just returned home from holiday in Paris. We rented an apartment on the Right Bank near Rue Etienne Marcel but I didn’t fall in love with Paris until we explored the Left Bank. Most of the Right Bank was over crowded, especially where we stayed. We are narrowing down our list of where to spend next summer and if we decide on Paris it will be the Left Bank. “Live on the left, play on the right”

Rive Droite!
The Palais Royal garden and the galleries there around are my favourite place… Every time I get in Paris, I like to visit it very early in the morning. It is a cozy and peaceful refuge that stimulates reflections.

I can’t help it, I am in love with the left bank:)

Cafés, people, Parisian cultural life I am 100% left bank.

I second the votes I see here for the “Haut Marais.” Love all those little streets, restos and shops. Then again, where I live in the 7e, I wake up to the sound of birdsong (yes, really) and see greenery beyond my windows. Lots to love on both sides of the Seine!

Ooh, great post – My first and true love is for the Left Bank, Montparnasse, Luxebourg, even Denfert Rochereau and the hospital where I had my baby. I love that there is so much Breton culture round Montparnasse. But yes the Right Bank is really where it’s happening, I go to Belleville and the 19th as much as possible and have always worked in the Marais.

I stayed (rented and owned) and apartment in Saint Germain for 52 years! My quartier changed drastically during those years. It lost it’s charm. Now I am renting in Haut Marais. No rules! But! I am torn between the two. You are absolutely right on in your blog.

I’m in love with Canal Saint Martin, but I feel that the Latin Quarter is my home every time I visit Paris!

I’d be happy on either bank, as long as I’m in Paris!…xv

It all sounds like a dream from here…so if you don’t mind I’ll choose beautiful Santa Barbara-America’s Rivera.:) I love your blog too!

I live by Montparnasse and love my area…tons of cinemas, great creperies and bars, and the Luxembourg Gardens are only a 10 minute walk away. I really like that there aren’t that many tourists in this area either.

Little Pieces of Light

I root for the Right Bank! I am in love with my neighbourhood of NoMa (North Marais / Haut-Marais), much more so than when I lived in the 15e on the Left Bank near the Tour Eiffel and Christian Constant’s restaurants! It’s a very cool neighbourhood with lots of great cafés and bars – and Canal St-Martin and Oberkampf are just a 7-min walk away. 🙂

Not sure I could ever choose…BOTH!

Great post! I’d live anywhere if I could live in Paris..but my preference is pretty obvious from my blog name 😀

Oh, how happy I am to see you use my flickr image here! Thank you!

Or you can choose the islands in between!

*Droite (clearly my Francophile nature has made me fluent in French)

As of now, I’m Right Bank all the way. I have classes by Champs-de-Mars, and my best friend lives in Saint-Germain, which I do think it’s a wonderful area… but I don’t know that I’d be able to tear myself away from Rive Droit. I serendipitously ended up on this side for a reason, I like to think ;).

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