Blessed with scenic beauty, staggering architecture and home to some of the world’s most revered artists, designers, writers and thinkers, Paris is one of the most alluring destinations for students looking to study abroad. 

If you’re ready to pack your bags and head to Paris, Student.com is a great way to find student accommodation in the French capital. We offer a wide range of different options for student housing in Paris with over 100 properties available, from luxurious city centre apartments in the heart of the city, to the more affordable cheap student accommodation options.

If you need help with choosing from our many options, don’t hesitate to give us a call or contact us on live chat.

Paris at a glance

There's an awful lot more to Paris than the world-famous national symbol Eiffel Tower, one of the most-visited attractions in the world. Paris easily captivates with its stylish boutiques, haute couture, and haute cuisine. Being surrounded by a vibrant and inspiring melting pot of culture, fashion, art, design, gastronomy, history, sports, and architectural beauty, it’s hard not to fall in love with the ‘City of Love.’ The 19.1 million international visitors in 2018, which was the third-highest for any city in the world and the highest of any European city, is indicative of that. 

Thanks to its rich history dating back approximately 2,000 years, this bohemian city has an endless variety of art and science museums, galleries, monuments, and expositions.

Diversity and multiculturalism are also huge draws for the French capital. Paris is like a globalised hodgepodge of languages, cultures, and styles. A Japanese neighbourhood is in close vicinity to the National Opera, the Indian and African communities share the same area, and some of the best French crêpes in the city are made by Greek immigrants.

Things to do

Paris is filled with several instantly recognizable iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the National Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d'Orsay, The Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Louvre, where you can see one of the most emblematic portraits in the history of art, the Mona Lisa.  

The party-goers who want to venture out into the nightlife of the ‘City of Light’ can dance the night away to an eclectic mix of contemporary music at Chez Moune. The veneered La Java, housed in a stunning Art Deco building, provides a throwback to the vintage days of Edith Piaf coupled with a contemporary mix of international sounds. 

For a more relaxed experience, students can spend their leisure time with friends at a café, or by having a beer in Canal Saint-Martin or coffee at Saint-Germain-des-Prés or stroll into one of those art-house cinemas tucked into a narrow alleyway in the city. 

If you want to sample Paris’s tantalizing local or foreign cuisine, the whopping 8,000 restaurants will cater to your every need. The capital is flooded with restaurants, bars, cafes and bistros of all styles, all providing a delicious blend of cultures and flavours from all over the world. 

Live the student life in Paris

The iconic European capital attracts thousands of students from around the world every year. But the cost of living in Paris might sometimes be a challenge for students living on a budget. Here are some tips how you can the best out of Paris without spending excessive amounts of money.

Financial benefits and discounts for students in Paris

Despite the high overall cost of living in Paris, students can live on a budget by taking advantage of French government programs and the many other student deals for meals, transportation, and cultural attractions and even French fine cuisine. 

CROUS Paris offers good food for student-friendly prices in 15 restaurants and 30 university cafeterias for as little as €3 for three courses.

Get cultured for free

Students can make use of many discounts and even free services. Most French museums and monuments are owned and operated by the government and offer free admission to EU citizens under the age of 26 and students. You can for example visit the Louvre free on Friday evenings after 6pm.

With a Paris Museum Pass you can get free access to over 50 museums around the city. You can buy 2, 4 and 6-day passes. You can also get access to over 60 attractions with the Paris Pass, which also lets you use the public transport for free inside central Paris.

Heavy discounts on transportation

Thanks to a well-developed transport system traveling around Paris is fast and easy. Taxis in France can be pretty expensive so the Metro will be your saviour if you’re looking to save on transportation. It’s the easiest and often the most economical way to get around the city. It will get you just about anywhere you want to go for 1.90€ per ride. Tickets also work on buses, trams, and the RER train line within the city. 

If you’re a university student under the age of 26, you can get a Carte Imagine R, which gives you unlimited travel on public transportation anywhere in the Ile-de-France region. The pass is valid for one year and currently costs 342€.

Tickets on the national train system, SNCF, can be quite pricey. To save money on train travel, you can get a Carte Jeune, which lets young people buy train tickets at a discounted price.

The universities of Paris

With the enticing combination of highly rated universities and relatively low tuition, Paris is one of the most popular study destinations in the world. It’s ranked as the seventh-best student city in the 2019 QS Best Student Cities Rankings. It consistently ranks inside the top 10 each year largely due to its high concentration of internationally ranked universities.

With the exception of Seoul and London (both have 18), Paris has more world-leading institutions than any other city on the planet with 12 universities featured in the QS World University Rankings. Some of these elite universities and specialized schools have produced some of the most important philosophers, theorists, scientists, artists, filmmakers, authors, politicians, business leaders and mathematicians of the last 100 years.

Some notable universities in Paris include:

• Sorbonne University
• HEC Paris
• École Polytechnique
• Sciences Po
• University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne

Frequently asked questions about international student accommodation in Paris

How do I apply for a student residence in Paris?

Applying for student accommodation in Paris with Student.com is very simple. First, you need to pick the student residence you like from our many options, then go to the property page and click ‘Enquire’ or ‘Book Now.’ You’ll then be asked to leave your contact details so that one of our booking consultants can call you and either give you more information about the property or take you through the booking steps.

Student.com does not charge you anything for this so you don’t have to worry about any additional costs outside of your rent and deposit. 

What types of student housing do you offer?

The student properties we list in Paris have three different types of rooms: 

1. Shared Room: Two or more people sleeping in separate beds in the same room. The living room, kitchen, and bathroom are all shared with other rooms.
2.  Private Room: Additional facilities are also shared with other rooms but you’ll have a private bedroom. In some properties you can also have private rooms with a private bathroom.
3.  Entire Place: This is a fully self-contained property. This means you don’t have to share with anyone. Your bedroom, as well as living, cooking and bathing facilities, are exclusively for you. 

Is it safe to rent private student apartments in Paris?

Student.com has a very strict vetting process. To ensure that all the housing options we list are safe to use, we carefully vet all the landlords we feature. Therefore, we only list properties from trusted student accommodation providers.

Can I see the residence before I move in?

Yes. If you’d like to see the property before you move in, just contact us on the phone or via live chat and our booking consultants will be happy to arrange a viewing for you.