3 Ducks Hostel sits at 6 place Étienne Pernet in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, one minute from two line 8 metro stations, and beds start at 35 euros per person in an eight-bed dorm or 99 euros for a private twin room. Every room has its own shower and toilet, air conditioning runs through the whole building, and the front desk is open 24 hours. Three things decide whether it suits you: check-out is 10:30am and the hostel charges 5 euros for every 30 minutes past it, breakfast is not included (10 euros pre-booked, 14 euros on the day), and because the building holds a licensed bar the hostel does not take guests under 16 without a direct agreement with management. Hostelworld guests scored it 8.8 from 7,098 reviews when this page was checked on 28 August 2026.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We are not paid by 3 Ducks Hostel, and nothing below was supplied or approved by the hostel.
Why does this hostel appear under three different names?
It is one property with one address, listed under three names. The hostel calls itself 3 Ducks Hostel on its own site and on the sign. Hostelworld and most booking channels list it as The 3 Ducks Eiffel Tower by Hiphophostels, after the small Paris group it belongs to. Booking.com files it under a third label, 3 Ducks Boutique Hostel. Older reviews and guidebooks also shorten it to Three Ducks.
The practical consequence is that a search for one name can miss reviews written under another. If you are comparing scores, check all three labels before deciding, because the review counts differ by thousands between platforms. The sister property in Montmartre uses the same pattern: it trades as Caulaincourt Square Hostel and is listed as Caulaincourt Montmartre by Hiphophostels.
3 Ducks Hostel at a glance
Detail | What the hostel publishes |
|---|---|
Address | 6 place Étienne Pernet, 75015 Paris |
Arrondissement | 15th, Grenelle quarter, behind the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Grenelle |
Phone | +33 (0)1 48 42 04 05 |
Nearest metro | Commerce and Félix Faure, both on line 8, about a one-minute walk |
Opened | 1987; the hostel calls itself the oldest private hostel in France |
Building | Former 18th-century coaching inn, a protected historic building |
Last rebuilt | April 2014, after two years of work |
Room types | 2, 4, 6 and 8 beds, private and shared, plus female-only dorms |
Bathrooms | Ensuite shower and toilet in the rooms |
Air conditioning | Throughout the building |
Reception | 24 hours |
Curfew | None |
Kitchen | Guest kitchen, free to use |
Bar | Fully licensed, on site |
Cheapest bed | From 35 euros per person, eight-bed dorm |
Cheapest private room | From 99 euros per room, twin |
What does a bed at 3 Ducks Hostel cost?
The hostel publishes a starting rate for all eight of its room types, so you can work out the cheapest option before you open a booking site. Dorm rates are per person and private-room rates are per room, which is the distinction most price comparisons get wrong.
Room type | From | Priced per | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
Dorm, 8 beds | 35 euros | Person | The cheapest 8-bed option in the building |
Duplex, 8 beds | 37 euros | Person | Same size, split over two levels |
Dorm, 6 beds | 42 euros | Person | Fewer roommates for a small premium |
Female-only dorm, 6 beds | 44 euros | Person | Solo women travellers |
Female-only dorm, 4 beds | 49 euros | Person | Quieter female-only option |
Twin room, private | 99 euros | Room | Two people; 49.50 euros each |
Private 4-bed room | 186 euros | Room | A group of four who want the room to themselves |
Deluxe 6-bed dorm, private | 239 euros | Room | A group of six who need to be guaranteed the same room |
Two costs sit outside the room rate. Breakfast is not included: the buffet is 10 euros if you pre-book it online and 14 euros if you decide on the day, and it runs from 7:30am to 10:30am. Towels are 3 euros. Bed linen is free and beds are made before you arrive. For context on what the same money buys in a hotel, see our list of charming Paris hotels around 100 euros.
What is the building, and how old is the hostel?
The hostel occupies a former 18th century coaching inn that is classed as a historical monument and is protected by Les Bâtiments de France. It is not a royal stable and it has no documented connection to Louis XIV, a claim that circulates widely and that this page previously repeated.
3 Ducks was founded in 1987 and describes itself as the oldest private hostel in France. In April 2014 it reopened after two years of work: the street facade was restored under the supervision of the Vieux Paris building commission, and the interior was rebuilt with a French architect and two graphic artists. That renovation is why the fittings feel newer than the 1987 founding date suggests, and it is the reason the rooms have ensuite bathrooms at all. The interior was redone in collaboration with a French architect and two graphic artists, which is unusual for a hostel at this price.
What do the rooms actually include?
Every room has its own shower and toilet. This is the single most misreported fact about the hostel: several listings, and an earlier version of this page, described a shared bathroom down the hall. The hostel lists ensuite showers and toilets across the property, along with 24-hour free hot water and central heating.
- Air conditioning in the whole building, not just selected rooms
- Free bed linen, with beds made up on arrival
- A free individual safe in the room
- An individual reading lamp with USB ports at each bed, plus individual plugs
- A hairdryer in each room
- Towels for 3 euros, which is the one item you may prefer to bring
Dorms come in 2-4-6 and 8 bed configurations, with female-only versions of the four and six-bed rooms, and private rooms run from a twin up to a six-bed deluxe room booked whole. One detail the listings do not mention: a guest reviewing in August 2026 noted there are no railings on the top bunk, which is worth knowing if you are a restless sleeper and are offered an upper bed.
Which amenities are real, and which are not?
The hostel lists a fairly long amenity set, and most of it holds up against guest reviews. Two items that appear on older summaries of this property do not.
Free WiFi
Free WiFi covers the whole hostel, and there is free internet access in the lobby and the bar.
Terrace
The courtyard terrace is set back from the street, which is what keeps it quiet, and it is the part of the hostel guests mention most often in reviews. It does not have Eiffel Tower views; the tower is about two kilometres away and out of sight from ground level here.
Bar and kitchen
The bar is fully licensed and sits at the front of the building, with the reception desk behind it. Restaurant service is possible. There is also a guest kitchen that is free to use, which matters if you are stretching a budget across several days. Note the trade-off: the bar is the reason the hostel does not accept under-16s, and recent Hostelworld reviews mention bar noise reaching the rooms. Guests who slept well said they brought earplugs.
24-hour front desk and luggage storage
Reception is staffed around the clock and there is no curfew. Luggage storage is free for the duration of your stay, which is what makes the 10:30am check-out workable: you can leave your bags and keep the day.
Safety and security
The hostel provides free security lockers and a free individual in-room safe, and the front desk is staffed 24 hours. Hostelworld guests scored security 9.3 out of 10, the second-highest of its seven category scores.
Board games and common areas
Board games are available in the communal areas, alongside free maps of Paris and adaptors at reception.
Airport shuttle: there is not one
Older write-ups say the hostel runs an airport shuttle that was suspended for Covid-19. Neither half is current. The hostel states plainly that it does not run shuttles, because a taxi works out cheaper and simpler for two or more people. What it will do is arrange a taxi at a fixed price: 40 euros to Orly for up to three people, 60 euros to Charles de Gaulle for up to three people, with a quoted fee for four or more. That is a paid service, not a free transfer.
Barbecue facilities
A communal barbecue appears on several third-party summaries of this property. The hostel does not list one among its own services, so treat it as unconfirmed and ask at the desk rather than planning around it.
What are the house rules?
The rules below are the ones that change a booking decision. The hostel publishes all of them, but they are scattered across its FAQ, its services page and its property description, so most summaries carry only two or three.
Rule | What applies |
|---|---|
Room access | From 2:00pm |
Arriving earlier | Sign in at any time, leave bags in the luggage room, come back for the room whenever you like |
Check-out | 10:30am, described as not flexible, with a 5 euro penalty for every 30 minutes past it |
Reservation | A credit card is required to book; no card means no online reservation |
Paying | You settle the bill at check-in, in cash or by card, and you may use a different card from the one you booked with |
Cancellation | Cancel or change at least 48 hours before arrival, by email, or the first night is charged. Hostelworld separately advertises free cancellation on bookings made more than three days ahead |
Prepaid nights | Not refunded and not transferable if you shorten your stay after checking in |
Sharing a bed | Not allowed; the hostel charges in full for a second person |
Minimum age | Under 16 not accepted unless management agrees in advance, because of the licensed bar |
Group placement | Booking six beds in a shared six-bed dorm does not guarantee the same room; only the private version does |
Curfew | None |
Pets | Not accepted |
Parking | No hostel parking; public parking nearby |
One published conflict is worth knowing about. The hostel’s own FAQ gives a hard 10:30am check-out with a late penalty. The house-rules panel on Hostelworld says check-out is “until 11:00” and check-in is 14:00 to 23:00, while the property description on that same page repeats the 10:30am figure and says sign-in is possible from 7:00am to 1:30am. Where the hostel and a booking platform disagree, plan around the hostel’s figure and confirm your arrival time when you book.
Where is 3 Ducks Hostel, and what is actually walkable?
The hostel is on place Étienne Pernet in the 15th arrondissement, immediately beside the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Grenelle. Coming out of Commerce station, take the rue du Commerce exit and turn towards the church; the hostel is on the right of it. Coming out of Félix Faure, take the place Étienne Pernet exit, which leaves you behind the church, and walk around it to your left.
This is a residential quarter with a market street, cafes, a post office, cinemas and a public pool rather than a monument district, and very little inside walking distance is a landmark. Hostelworld measures it at 3.94 kilometres from the centre of Paris. That is the honest trade: you get a quiet, ordinary Parisian street and a one-minute walk to the metro, and you do not get to walk out of the door into a landmark.
What is genuinely close
- Place du Commerce and the rue du Commerce market street, a few minutes on foot
- Square Saint-Lambert, a public garden in the same arrondissement
- Commerce and Félix Faure metro stations, both about a minute away
- Vélib’ bike stations in the surrounding streets
What is not close, whatever the listings say
Sacré-Cœur is in the 18th arrondissement, the Louvre in the 1st, Notre-Dame on the Île de la Cité, the Arc de Triomphe in the 8th and the Opéra Bastille in the 12th. None of them is a walk from place Étienne Pernet, and a page that lists them as “nearby attractions” is describing Paris, not this neighbourhood. They are easy to reach, which is a different claim, and the next section explains how.
How far is the Eiffel Tower, really?
Sources disagree, so here is who says what. The hostel’s own location page calls it a ten-minute walk. Its property description on Hostelworld says fifteen minutes. Guests who reviewed the hostel in August 2026 put it at fifteen to twenty minutes, and one wrote “about a 20 minute walk”. The RATP points-of-interest listing for the address puts the tower roughly two kilometres away, which at an ordinary walking pace is about twenty-five minutes.
Treat a twenty minutes walk to the Eiffel Tower as the realistic figure and the ten-minute claim as optimistic; a 15-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower back to the hostel is achievable only at pace. If you would rather ride, line 8 to École Militaire puts you at the Champ de Mars end of the tower in three stops. Booking ahead is the bigger time saver either way, since the queue is the wait that actually costs you an afternoon: priority-access Eiffel Tower tickets skip the ticket line. More ideas nearby are in our guide to things to do near the Eiffel Tower and our main Eiffel Tower page.
Which parts of Paris are a straight run on line 8?
Both of the hostel’s stations are on line 8, and that single line reaches a surprising share of the sights without a change. Heading towards Créteil from Commerce you pass:
- La Motte-Picquet Grenelle, one stop, where you can change to lines 6 and 10
- École Militaire, three stops, for the Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower
- Invalides, for Napoleon’s tomb
- Concorde, for the Tuileries and the foot of the Champs-Élysées
- Opéra and Grands Boulevards, for the department stores
- République and Bastille, for the Opéra Bastille and the eastern nightlife
If you are visiting Paris for the first time and public transportation here is new to you, our guide to getting around Paris covers tickets and transfers, and we have a separate list of the ten best metro stations worth seeing for themselves. Being this close to the metro is the practical case for the 15th: the accommodation is cheap and the commute is short.
How do you get there from the airports and stations?
These are the hostel’s own published routings, which is why they all end at Commerce rather than at the nearer-sounding station.
Arriving from | Route the hostel publishes |
|---|---|
Charles de Gaulle | RER B to Gare du Nord, line 5 towards Place d’Italie to République, then line 8 towards Balard to Commerce |
Orly | RER B or the OrlyBus to Denfert-Rochereau, line 6 towards Charles de Gaulle Étoile to La Motte-Picquet Grenelle, then line 8 towards Balard to Commerce |
Beauvais | Airport bus to Porte Maillot, line 1 towards Vincennes to Concorde, then line 8 towards Balard to Commerce |
Gare du Nord or Gare de l’Est | Line 5 towards Place d’Italie to République, then line 8 towards Balard to Commerce |
Gare d’Austerlitz | Line 10 towards Boulogne to Émile Zola, then the rue du Commerce exit towards the church |
Gare Montparnasse or Gare de Bercy | Line 6 towards Charles de Gaulle Étoile to La Motte-Picquet Grenelle, then line 8 towards Balard to Commerce |
Gare de Lyon | Line 1 towards La Défense to Concorde, then line 8 towards Balard to Commerce |
One correction worth carrying with you: Orly’s terminals have not been called Orly Sud and Orly Ouest since 2019. They are now Orly 1, 2, 3 and 4, and airport signage uses the numbers. If you would rather not navigate any of this after a long flight, the hostel will arrange a fixed-price taxi, at 40 euros from Orly or 60 euros from Charles de Gaulle for up to three people.
What is worth seeing in the neighbourhood?
Place du Commerce
Place du Commerce is in the 15th arrondissement, a few minutes from the hostel, at the heart of the rue du Commerce shopping street. It is a working local square with shops, cafes and a garden rather than a monument, and it is the reason the quarter feels like a village. Older versions of this page placed it in the 4th arrondissement, on the other side of the river.
The rue du Commerce itself is one of the better everyday food streets in this part of Paris. For the bigger markets, see our guide to the top food markets in Paris.
Square Saint-Lambert
Square Saint-Lambert is a public garden in the 15th, walkable from the hostel and the closest thing to a park on this side of the quarter. It is a place to eat a picnic rather than a sight to photograph. If you want the famous ones, our guides to the best parks in Paris and to Paris squares cover them.
The Eiffel Tower
The tower opened for the 1889 Exposition Universelle and stands about 330 metres tall with its current antennas. From the hostel it is roughly two kilometres on foot or three stops on line 8 to École Militaire.
Sacré-Cœur
The basilica sits on the hill of Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement, at the highest point in the city. Construction finished in 1914 and it draws around eleven million visitors a year. From the hostel it is a cross-city trip, not a walk, and it is the sight nearest to the group’s other Paris hostel. Guided tours including the dome cut the queue for the climb.
Opéra Bastille
The Opéra Bastille is in the 12th arrondissement and was inaugurated on 13 July 1989. It was designed by the Uruguayan-Canadian architect Carlos Ott, not by the “Pierre Dubois” this page previously named. It is the larger of the two houses of the Paris Opera, and from the hostel it is a direct run on line 8 to Bastille.
Luxembourg Gardens
The gardens are in the 6th arrondissement, on the Left Bank, and are the city’s best-known picnic lawn. From the hostel the simplest route is line 8 to La Motte-Picquet Grenelle then line 10 east.
Arc de Triomphe
The arch stands at the top of the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement, begun in 1806 to mark Napoleon’s victories, and you can climb to the roof for the view down the twelve avenues. Skip-the-line tickets are worth it in summer.
Louvre Museum
The Louvre began as a fortress in the 12th century and became a museum after the Revolution. It holds the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and Liberty Leading the People. From the hostel, line 8 to Concorde and a walk through the Tuileries is the pleasant way in. Timed entrance tickets are effectively compulsory. Nearby, the Bourse de Commerce shows contemporary art under a glass dome.
Notre-Dame
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame is on the Île de la Cité, known for its rose windows and its gargoyles. The archaeological crypt under the parvis shows the Roman and medieval city beneath it, and the Pont au Double is the classic view of the east end. For a full day covering several of these at once, a private guided day in Paris saves the planning.
Further afield, the rue de Rivoli and Le Marais are the obvious next walk, and our list of things to do in Paris covers the rest.
Where can you eat near the hostel?
L’Os à Moëlle
The nearest restaurant of real reputation is L’Os à Moëlle at 3 rue Vasco de Gama in the 15th arrondissement, about a kilometre from the hostel. It is a bistro, not a Marais restaurant, and an earlier version of this page placed it in the Marais and attributed a menu to it that it does not serve. It was founded in 1994 by Thierry Faucher and passed to chef Mathieu Anfray in March 2026. It closes on Sunday and Monday, and serves roughly noon to 2pm and 7pm to 10:30pm.
Brasserie La Tour Eiffel
Brasserie La Tour Eiffel is a classic brasserie by the tower, serving steak frites and the rest of the repertoire with a view of the ironwork. It is near the Eiffel Tower rather than near the hostel, so treat it as a stop on a sightseeing day. For the wider genre, see our guide to Paris brasseries, and for two of the historic rooms, Mollard and Au Chien qui Fume.
The cheapest option is the hostel’s own kitchen, which is free to use, with the rue du Commerce shops a few minutes away.
How do guests actually rate 3 Ducks Hostel?
Two platforms carry enough reviews to be meaningful, and they do not agree, which is normal: their scales and their audiences differ.
Source | Score | Reviews counted |
|---|---|---|
Hostelworld | 8.8 out of 10, “Fabulous” | 7,098 |
Booking.com | 8.1 out of 10 | 1,721 verified |
Hostelworld also breaks the score into categories, and the shape is more useful than the headline. Location scores 9.4 and security 9.3, both near the top of the scale. Staff score 9.2, which matches the single most repeated theme in the written reviews. Atmosphere is 8.7 and facilities 8.6. The two lowest are cleanliness at 8.4 and value for money at 8.4, and recent reviews name the specifics: bathroom cleanliness and small lockers. Reviewers who mentioned the bar said to bring earplugs. The recurring praise is for friendly and helpful staff and for the international atmosphere in the common areas; Hostelworld’s own summary of recent reviews calls it a lively bar with a fantastic location close to the metro.
Who should book somewhere else?
- Families with a child under 16. The licensed bar means the hostel will not take them without a prior agreement with management.
- Anyone who needs a late morning. Check-out is 10:30am with a 5 euro charge per half hour after it, which is earlier and stricter than most Paris hostels.
- Light sleepers who will not use earplugs. The bar is in the building and reviewers mention the noise.
- Travellers without a credit card. The hostel cannot take a reservation without one, though you can pay cash on arrival once booked.
- Groups who must be in the same room. Booking six beds in a shared dorm does not guarantee it; the private six-bed room, at 239 euros, is the only guarantee.
- Anyone who wants to walk to the landmarks. The 15th is quiet and well connected, but the sights are a metro ride away.
If the location is the problem rather than the hostel, Aloha Hostel is another budget option in the same part of the city, and Hotel du Globe / Tonic Hotel Saint Germain sits closer to the Left Bank sights. Timing matters too: our guide to the best time to visit Paris explains when the rates in the table above roughly double.
Six mistakes people make booking this hostel
- Assuming the bathroom is shared. Rooms have their own shower and toilet; a lot of summaries still say otherwise.
- Comparing a dorm rate to a private-room rate. Dorm prices are per person, private rooms are per room. The 99 euro twin is 49.50 euros each, cheaper per head than a female-only four-bed dorm.
- Budgeting for a free breakfast. It costs 10 euros pre-booked or 14 euros on the day, and it stops at 10:30am.
- Planning a slow last morning. Check-out is 10:30am and it is enforced. Leave your bags in the free luggage room and keep the day.
- Booking a shared six-bed dorm for six friends. That does not reserve the room, only six beds somewhere in it.
- Expecting an airport shuttle. There is not one. There is a fixed-price taxi at 40 euros to Orly or 60 euros to Charles de Gaulle for up to three people.
Sources and what we corrected
Prices, policies, room types, amenities and routings on this page come from the hostel’s own site, 3ducks.fr, and from its property description and house rules on Hostelworld. Review scores come from Hostelworld and Booking.com. Everything was read on 28 August 2026, and rates and scores change.
This review previously carried several errors, and they are named here rather than quietly deleted: Place du Commerce was placed in the 4th arrondissement instead of the 15th; Commerce station was described as serving the RER A, when it is on line 8 only; the rooms were described as having a shared bathroom; air conditioning was described as a single unit; an airport shuttle was described as suspended for Covid-19; the age policy was given as 18 to 55 and separately as under 15, instead of the published under-16 rule; the building was called a royal stable built under Louis XIV; the Opéra Bastille was attributed to “Pierre Dubois” rather than Carlos Ott; L’Os à Moëlle was placed in the Marais with a menu it does not serve; and six landmarks across five arrondissements were listed as “nearby attractions”. The page also contained no prices at all.
3 Ducks Hostel FAQ
Where is 3 Ducks Hostel in Paris?
3 Ducks Hostel is at 6 place Etienne Pernet in the 15th arrondissement, beside the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Grenelle. The nearest metro stations are Commerce and Felix Faure, both on line 8 and both about a one-minute walk.
How much does 3 Ducks Hostel cost?
The hostel publishes starting rates of 35 euros per person in an eight-bed dorm, 42 euros in a six-bed dorm, 44 to 49 euros in a female-only dorm, 99 euros for a private twin room, 186 euros for a private four-bed room and 239 euros for the private six-bed room. Dorms are priced per person and private rooms per room, and city tax is charged on top.
Is 3 Ducks Hostel the same as The 3 Ducks Eiffel Tower by Hiphophostels?
Yes. It is one property at one address. The hostel calls itself 3 Ducks Hostel, Hostelworld and most booking channels list it as The 3 Ducks Eiffel Tower by Hiphophostels, and Booking.com files it as 3 Ducks Boutique Hostel.
What time is check-in and check-out at 3 Ducks Hostel?
Rooms are available from 2:00pm and you can sign in earlier and leave your bags in the free luggage room. Check-out is 10:30am and the hostel describes it as not flexible, charging 5 euros for every 30 minutes past it. Hostelworld’s house-rules panel lists 11:00, so plan around the hostel’s own figure.
No. The hostel lists ensuite showers and toilets in the rooms, along with air conditioning throughout the building, free linen and a free in-room safe. Towels are an extra 3 euros.
Does 3 Ducks Hostel accept children?
Not under 16. Because the building holds a licensed bar, the hostel states it does not accept guests under 16 unless management agrees in advance.
How far is 3 Ducks Hostel from the Eiffel Tower?
About two kilometres. The hostel calls it a ten-minute walk and its Hostelworld listing says fifteen, while guests reviewing in August 2026 reported fifteen to twenty minutes. Line 8 to Ecole Militaire is three stops if you would rather ride.
Is breakfast included at 3 Ducks Hostel?
No. The continental buffet costs 10 euros if you pre-book it online and 14 euros on the day, and it is served from 7:30am to 10:30am.
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