People move to the big city for any number of reasons: to work, to study, for culture, and to experience the hustle and bustle. But actually living in the heart of the city doesn’t appeal to everyone.
Even Paris, famous for its light, its beauty, and its café lifestyle, can be overwhelming for those who prefer the quiet. It can also be expensive.
If you’re one of them, there’s good news: there are more options than living inside Paris’ city limits. Just outside, you’ll find a range of beautiful, peaceful suburbs, each with its own quirks and charms.
This article explores some of the best Paris suburbs to live in, especially for newcomers, expats, and families.
| Sommaire |
The suburbs of Paris sit just outside the main ring road (“périphérique”) which circles the central city. Inside the périphérique are Paris’ 20 arrondissements which make up the city’s inner neighborhoods.
The suburbs aren’t numbered like arrondissements—they have their own names and often completely separate administrations. You’ll doubtless have heard of Versailles, with its famous château, and areas including Saint-Denis, Nanterre, and La Défense all featured heavily during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Paris’ suburbs are colloquially divided into the Petite Couronne and Grande Couronne. The Petite Couronne (“little crown” or inner ring) are the three departments directly encircling Paris city: Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Seine. Each of these departments is larger in area than Paris itself, and only slightly smaller in population.
The adjoining departments outside the Petite Couronne make up the Grande Couronne. These outer suburbs are sometimes known as the banlieues, a term that can have negative connotations for being far away and neglected.
For this article, we’ll focus on the Petite Couronne. But there are great places to live, study, and explore in both.
The central city is densely populated, and finding accommodation can be challenging. By contrast, it can feel much easier to find a suitable place to live in the suburbs.
The main reasons people choose to live outside the city center include:
And the suburbs can still be pretty convenient—especially compared with more sprawling cities like London or Los Angeles. Plenty of Parisians make the short commute into the city for work and social occasions. Many suburbs are on main metro lines, and you can typically be in the very center of the city within 30 minutes.
To give a better idea of what this suburban lifestyle looks like, we’ve detailed seven Paris suburbs popular with expats and locals alike.
Paris is surrounded by dozens of suburbs, giving you a wide selection to choose from should you wish to live outside the city. Our list will focus on the most common and desirable landing spots for expats.
Our list only includes suburbs in the Petite Couronnes—the departments adjacent to Paris’ outer arrondissements. This means they’re all well connected by metro, bus, and train lines, and residents can easily commute into the city as required.
Neuilly-sur-Seine is among the wealthiest communes in all of France. And it continues to have some of the highest property prices in the country.
But this doesn’t mean it’s impossible or unmanageable to live here. And the advantages are real.
It sits just outside the city to the west, between the Arc de Triomphe and La Défense business district. You really can’t be much closer to the city and still enjoy the quiet grandeur of suburban life—if you have the budget.
Neuilly-sur-Seine is an ideal landing spot for business people working in La Défense, as well as diplomats and employees at the international organizations (like the OECD) in the 16th arrondissement.
Fun facts
Find out more about Neuilly sur Seine in our dedicated article.
Another famously affluent Paris suburb, Levallois-Perret is known for being quiet, ornate, and very clean. It features wide roads and sidewalks, sparkling apartment buildings, good public and private schools, and several well-known sports clubs.
Compared with some of the other more residential suburbs on this list, Levallois-Perret feels more like an extension of Paris’ western arrondissements, the 16th and 17th. You’re likely to live in an apartment here, albeit perhaps a larger and more modern one than in the city.
The suburb is easily connected to the central city by line 3, which takes you to important hubs like Saint Lazare and République. And there are even two free bus lines to take you around and through Levallois-Perret itself.
Fun facts
Just across the Seine for Courbevoie and Neuilly-sur-Seine, Courbevoie is another green, leafy suburb. Slightly further from central Paris than those two towns, its other biggest difference is its proximity to La Défense. As mentioned above, La Défense is Paris’ key business district—the largest purpose-built CBD in Europe. And part of La Défense is within Courbevoie.
As such, Courbevoie is an ideal home base for people working in the headquarters of AXA, Société Générale, TotalEnergies, Aventis, and many other enterprises.
There are also a range of prestigious business schools, the Leonardo de Vinci University Center, and some highly ranked public and private high schools.
Courbevoie has received recognition as being the safest place to live in Ile-de-France (the greater Paris region). It was also named the top town in the Paris region by the Association of Towns Where Life is Good.
Fun facts
Known simply as “Boulogne,” Boulogne-Billancourt is a lovely mix of business life and green spaces. It’s the seat of headquarters for several major national and international companies (see below), as well as international organizations, industrial centers, and other businesses.
As the name suggests, the suburb is directly adjacent to the Bois de Boulogne, one of the two major wooded parks at the edges of Paris. Residents therefore have incredible walking, running, and cycling opportunities on their doorstep. Whether you live in an apartment or a house, nature is never far away.
Bois de Boulogne also has horse riding facilities (and a racing velodrome), and is the site of festivals and events all year round. The Musée Albert Kahn is also a popular Boulogne attraction, featuring beautifully manicured private gardens around a stately house.
Fun facts
Saint-Cloud is popular with expats thanks to its large homes with well-manicured gardens—very hard to find inside Paris. It’s another of Paris’ more expensive suburbs, with the cost of living estimated at around $2,000 per month.
But for many, the calm and beauty is well worth the price. Many Parisians even plan local “staycations” in the town, only 11km from the city center and easy to reach. The Parc de Saint-Cloud offers lots of open green space, a beautiful waterfall-style fountain, sculptures, and plenty more to explore.
It’s a common landing spot for families, and is home to both the American School of Paris and the International German School. Saint-Cloud is well connected to Paris by metro, several RER trains, and a tram.
Fun facts
Formerly a manufacturing hub, Issy-les-Moulineaux is now full of service businesses and is the center of the Val de Seine business district. This includes the headquarters of most major French TV networks, and plenty more telecommunications and media companies.
It’s obviously a convenient place to live for those working nearby, but is equally popular with families and executives who want easy access to Paris’ left bank. Most residents enjoy the relative calm compared with the inner city, but still with plenty to see and do.
It’s served by RER line B, connecting it to both city airports, as well as metro line 12. There’s even a direct tram to La Défense, one of Europe’s leading business districts.
Fun facts
Slightly less opulent than the expensive western suburbs, Vincennes is nonetheless a beautiful, peaceful place to live. In fact, it’s the combination of leafy green environment and slightly cheaper rent that makes it so appealing.
As the name suggests, Vincennes is next to Paris’ second wooded park, the Bois de Vincennes, which hosts a château, a zoo, a hippodrome and velodrome, several manmade lakes, and the Parc Floral de Paris. All of which make it a popular weekend destination for Parisians.
But not to fear, Bois de Vincennes is reportedly three times larger than New York’s Central Park and can easily accommodate the weekend crowd.
Vincennes township has everything you’d expect from a French suburb, with lovely bakeries, plenty of schools (and a university), and easy connections to the city. Sitting at the end of line 1, residents can traverse through the heart of the city and arrive at La Défense once again, making it a relatively easy commute all the way east to west.
Fun facts
Compared with western suburbs like Neuilly and Saint-Cloud, Pantin is noticeably more diverse—nearly a third of residents were born outside metropolitan France. You’ll also find more diversity in incomes and professionals, and property prices can be considerably lower than the more affluent suburbs.
Pantin sits just outside the La Villette area of Paris’ 19th arrondissement. This puts it within walking distance of cultural sites like the Philharmonie de Paris, Le Zenith concert venue, the Grande Halle exhibition space, the Cabaret Sauvage club and the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie science museum—a favorite for children. Pantin itself is home to the Centre National de la Danse.
Pantin is a base for 2,000 companies, including Hermès, Chanel, Gucci, and BNP Paribas. It’s very well connected, with multiple metro lines, RER line E, several buses and a tram.
Fun facts
All of the suburbs listed above offer the chance to have more space, more peace, and more affordability, all within easy access of Paris. Some are a better fit for those on tighter budgets, while others are closer to key business districts.
Whichever you choose, you’re sure to fall in love with the local charm and vibes you’ll soon be a part of. The only thing left to do is look at the listings and find the perfect house or apartment.
Explore your Paris rental opportunities, both in and around the city.