Recommended hotels in the 12th arrondissement of Paris (southeast of Bastille and Gare de Lyon)

I stayed here in 2025 and really enjoyed it. It's a Belle Epoque building on Rue de Lyon with 128 air-conditioned rooms and a free minibar. What surprised me was the breakfast: not a stuffy stone cellar but a ground-floor hall with large arched windows, and a hot and cold buffet including scrambled eggs, waffles and cheeses, from 6:30 to 10. The location does the trick: a five-minute walk from Gare de Lyon, a junction that takes you all over Paris without changing lines, and ten minutes from Place de la Bastille and the Allegretta Market. Note that this is a business hotel, not a Parisian boutique, and that breakfast costs 24 euros per person. I recommend checking for a rate that includes it, as it's really worth it.

On Rue Van Gogh, between the Seine and the back of Gare de Lyon, stands a hotel that looks more like a startup than a Parisian hotel. The rooms are compact but fully utilized: a large king bed, a powerful rain shower, and an iPad by the bed that controls the lighting, curtains, and temperature. On the 16th floor is the cloudM rooftop bar, a 24-hour canteen in the lobby, and from there it’s a fifteen-minute walk to Place de la Bastille. Those looking for classic Parisian charm or a spacious room will be disappointed, because it’s just the opposite. I recommend asking for a high floor, because the windows here are wall to wall and the view is half the fun.

A boutique hotel founded by two sisters, on the small and quiet Rue Hector Malot. 37 Art Deco rooms with Parisian boudoir touches, a New York loft-style gym that also hosts yoga classes, and at the heart of the building a lush interior courtyard where breakfast is served in the summer. This combination of complete silence, a four-minute walk from Gare de Lyon and ten minutes from the Allegretta Market , is not something to take for granted. Note that breakfast is not included in the price and is only served from 8 a.m., so those catching an early train will not enjoy it. I recommend asking for a room facing the courtyard, as it is even quieter there.

Rue Jules César is a quiet side street between Place de la Bastille and Porte de la Arsenal, and is home to a hotel that functions as a semi-gallery. The spacious lobby hosts changing art exhibitions throughout the year, and the 55 rooms have chosen two design lines, urban and ecological, so that two rooms in the same hotel can look completely different. There is a gym, massages and manicures are delivered to your room, and the bar is open until two in the morning. The Marais district begins a ten-minute walk from here . The downside here is the breakfast room, which can get full at peak times. I recommend going down before eight-thirty and sitting down comfortably.

If you're coming with kids, this is probably the right hotel in the district. 253 rooms in a modern building right across from Gare de Lyon, with a heated indoor pool open until 11 p.m., a play area, and a restaurant. Children under 16 stay free in their parents' room. From Gare de Lyon, the RER A line goes directly to Disneyland Paris without changing, which is exactly the kind of logistics that saves an entire morning. But don't expect Parisian flair: this is just an efficient chain hotel, and breakfast costs extra. I recommend asking for a high floor, as the station below is busy all day.

This hotel has a foosball table in its lobby, with a projector above it that is turned on on game nights. This is not a joke, but the idea: a small hotel on Rue de Lyon, about halfway between Gare de Lyon and Place de la Bastille, that tries to feel more like a living room than a lobby. Coffee and tea are available for self-service 24 hours a day, and for breakfast, scrambled eggs are served alongside a basket of pastries. The rooms are simply furnished and definitely on the small side, and the elevator is modest. I recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable base for three nights and not planning on spending hours in the room.

If you're coming to Paris for the opera, it's hard to find a more convenient address than this: the building is located at 67 rue de Lyon, right opposite the Opéra Bastille, so after the show you cross the road and go to bed. And we haven't even talked about the proximity to the Marais, which is just a stone's throw away... 37 rooms with contemporary design with large windows, a renovated bar near reception, and a machine at the breakfast buffet that squeezes fresh orange juice on the spot. Bastille metro station is a minute away with lines 1, 5 and 8. The standard rooms are quite small, but the junior suites have a real sitting area. I recommend upgrading to them if you're staying more than three nights.

Rue Traversière is one of those Parisian streets that is hidden away a three-minute walk from the main train station. This small hotel has just 28 rooms, all air-conditioned, making it a reasonable option for those arriving on a late train. The detail I like here is that at the end of the street runs Avenue Daumesnil, above which stretches the Coulée verte and below which sit the artists’ workshops of the Viaduc des Arts. The interior design is modest and unpretentious, so don’t expect a designer experience. I recommend asking for a room that doesn’t face the street, as there is traffic here in the morning.

The strong point of this hotel is what is right in front of it: Rue Crémieux, a small pedestrian alley of pastel-colored houses that is one of the most photographed corners in Paris, and most Israelis don't even know it exists. The hotel itself has 40 rooms renovated in soft hues in the spirit of the Belle Époque, including family rooms for four people, and all are air-conditioned and soundproof. Note two things: the bathrooms are small, and the elevator doesn't reach the top floor, so you have to walk up the last few steps. I recommend that anyone arriving with heavy luggage request a low floor in advance.

Rue d'Austerlitz is a quiet residential street that branches off from the noise of Gare de Lyon, and a five-minute walk separates the two. It's a simple hotel, and it's true to itself: small, clean rooms, air conditioning in every room, and family rooms that sleep up to four people at a reasonable price for Paris. There's a free 24-hour coffee and tea machine in the lobby, and the airport bus stops right next to the hotel. However, the breakfast here is basic and unimpressive, and there's no kettle in the rooms themselves, so you make your tea downstairs. I recommend it mainly for a night or two around the train, not for a week of traveling.