Arrondisment help?
Apr 15th, 2003, 01:58 PM
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Arrondisment help?
I will be in Paris May 15-22 with a friend. We're both 29, female, traveling together. We're looking at 2 hotels. Can anyone give me an idea about the hotels and the arrondisments they're in? Both hotels are pretty close to the metro which is good.<BR><BR>Hotel UNIC<BR>14th<BR>55 Rue du Montparnasse<BR>The hotel looks cute, but I'm getting mixed reviews about the neighborhood. I've been told it's not the nicest.<BR><BR>Classics Hotel Tour Eiffel<BR>16th<BR>Near Exelmans and Ponte du St Cloude metro stations. I believe this is predominantly a residential area.<BR><BR>Thank you in advance for any input!<BR><BR>Gayle
Apr 15th, 2003, 08:34 PM
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I, too, read with interest the mixed reviews the Montparnasse area has received. <BR><BR>Though it has been several years now, I always stayed in the Montparnasse area and enjoyed it. While it is not as touristy nor as quaint as some, it has plenty of hotels and good restaurants, expecially creperies. I was a female travelling alone and always felt safe going out in the evening. Taxis are easy to find, just look for the taxi stands. <BR><BR>Sorry, I do not have personal knowledge of the other area nor any of the hotels you have mentioned. I stayed at the Hotel Miramar, Trianon Hotel and the Montparnasse Bienvenue--but I would look at them online and get current information before I used them.<BR>
Apr 15th, 2003, 10:32 PM
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Hi,<BR>I don't know who told you that the Montparnasse area is "not the nicest" but I certainly don't agree! It's a lively area popular with students. The area is always busy in the evenings due to the concentration of cinemas to be found there, and there are lots of restaurants, cafés and bars within easy access, and of course the tranport options are excellent. It's also traditionally the "Breton" area of town, so you'll find that the Rue du Montparnasse is crammed with traditional Breton creperies. (My fave is the Creperie Josselin). There is some good shopping along the Rue de Rennes, which takes you into the heart of the 6th arrondissement and St Germain area. <BR><BR>As for the 16th arrondissement - boring, boring, boring! Primarily residential, very bourgeois, and very little going for it in terms of nightlife. It gets pretty dead at night - which I would find much scarier than a busy street when walking back in the evening.
Apr 15th, 2003, 10:41 PM
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I have also stayed in the Montparnasse area (the 14th arr.) and don't quite understand the recent criticism; however, keep in mind that it was someone who hadn't stayed in the area who posted it. <BR><BR>As I recall, around the train station was not pretty, kind of bland. UNIC seems to be quite close to the station and slightly NW. I prefer Blvd Montparnasse SE of the station (on the edge of the 6th). Any particular reason you have zeroed in on these two hotels?<BR><BR>My main gripe about Classics is that it is on the edge of the city. I really can't tell you anything about that area.
Apr 16th, 2003, 03:46 AM
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I wouldn't recommend the 16th for the reason given and it is pretty far from the central things you will want to see. And Montparnasse is not exactly central either but busy and bustling in a different sort of way than the 5th or 6th. You could look up the hotel on the pages jaunes and "walk up and down the street".
Apr 16th, 2003, 06:47 AM
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I recently stayed in Montparnasse with my twenty year old daughter, and we both really enjoyed the neighborhood. We felt very safe. As others have pointed out, the rue du Montparnasse has creperies for fun and inexpensive meals. There are many movies playing at all times a couple of blocks from the hotel.<BR><BR>On the Boulevard Edgar Quinet, just at the corner of rue du Montparnasse, there is a street market a couple of days a week, including Saturdays, and an art and craft market on Sundays. <BR><BR>We actually stayed on the street by the train station and tower which has been criticized as not quaint enough, but the quainter parts of the neighborhood are right around the corner, so I saw no disadvantage other than perhaps the view out the window.<BR><BR>Lots of shopping on rue de Rennes and in the mall next to the tower. Terrific metro connections to the rest of the city.
Apr 16th, 2003, 07:08 AM
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I have used hotels in the 14th on the edge of the 6th three times in recent years. Last year our hotel was on Boulvevard Raspail, about 250 yards down Raspail toward Denfert Rochereau. <BR>The area along Boulevard Montparnasse is lively to say the least. There are many restaurants and shops along the boulevard and at night the sidewalks are crowded with people. We have walked along the streets in that area at night and in the day time and I have not felt threatened or encountered any violent behavior. <BR><BR>The street, Rue de Montparnasse, crosses Boulveard Raspail close to the church Notre Dame des Champs. I looked at the write up on the web that describes the hotel. It says the hotel is close to the Edgar Quinet Metro Station, which is one I have used a couple of times to return to my hotel on Raspail.<BR>Boulevard Edgar Quinet is a wide street runs along the side of a large cemetary not far from the hotel. <BR><BR>Gare Montparnasse and the Tour Montparnasse are very near to that street. <BR><BR>I stayed at the Hotel Aiglon on Boulard Raspail twice and at a hotel on Rue de Rennes once, so I have had some experience with that area.<BR><BR>I am not sure what is meant by saying it is a bad area. If that area is bad, so is all of Paris because the places we walked at night are fairly typical of much of Paris. <BR><BR>As a curiosity, at night walk along Boulevard Edgar Quinet and notice how the cars are parked. They are mammed in so tight as to defy the imagination.<BR>I am told that the secret is that the drivers do not set the brakes so that the cars can be pushed to make room for a driver that wants to get his car out.<BR>
Apr 17th, 2003, 05:35 AM
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I am also interested in the Hotel Unic. Please give a report as to how you found the hotel if you go there, and have a great time! I also would not worry about the area, and don't forget that you are within wallking distance of the Luxembourg Gardens, not to mention in close proximity to La Coupole and le Dome!
Apr 17th, 2003, 05:41 AM
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I have stayed in the 5th, 6th, and 16th districts but not in the 14th. I agree that although the 16th is residential and quiet it's too quiet at night-very few restaurants and nightlife as you find in the 5th and 6th districts. I would like to stay in the 14th dist. the next time I visit as I've heard that it's still nearby the 6th yet Montparnasse has many shops and restaurants as well. Also many hotels there seem to offer alot lower rates than the other above-mentioned areas esp. in low season. I think you should stay at Hotel Unic instead of Classics Hotel T. Eiffel. Even better check with Hotel Aiglon-the hotel looks really good and the rates are low. It even has a/c.
Apr 17th, 2003, 06:25 AM
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Bob Brown is right, of course. I was thinking Blvd M... rather than Rue M... Actually the UNIC is a block away from where I'll be staying starting May 3! It's not too far from the AirFrance shuttle pickup for CDG (&euro; 11.50).
Apr 18th, 2003, 11:07 AM
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Thank you again for all of your comments. However, there's a wrench in the gears.<BR><BR>Since I'm bookign hotel and air together, I just got word that the hotel isn't available. This is what I've got to choice from in my preferred order. Any other comments?<BR><BR>Grand Hotel Francais<BR>11th arrondisment<BR>223 Blvd Voltaire<BR>Metro: Nations<BR><BR>Hotel Veronese<BR>13th arrondisment<BR>5 rue Veronese<BR>Metro: Place d'Italie<BR><BR>Or, back to the Hotel Classics Tour Eiffel. <BR><BR>Any more comments?<BR><BR>Thank you again!<BR>
Apr 18th, 2003, 07:29 PM
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Well, Bob was not fully right. He should have said that Rue Montparnasse crosses Boulevard Montparnasse very close to the church Notre Dame des Champs. Raspail is not quite accurate, although it is close by. He can be excused, however, because for his age he does rather well. Just a little forgetful now and then.<BR><BR>And yes take a look at the Aiglon.<BR>The "superior" rooms are ok, with a real closet for your clothes and a nice bathroom -- double lavatory etc.<BR>The shower however is typical Paris -- hand held sprayer and a bathtub with splash board. <BR><BR>Although many of the rooms front on Boulevard Raspail, the double glass in the windows damps the noise and the AC is adequate. The a/c control is in your room in the form of a device like a TV remote. <BR>That gadget is funny. Lots of American guests pick it up, point it at the tv, and click. When the tv does not come on the front desk person gets an enquiry. The regular day crew is very efficient and most of them speak good English. The weekend folks are not as fluent, but they try.<BR><BR><BR>
Apr 19th, 2003, 10:10 AM
#18
I've always booked my own flight and hotel separately, so don't know how a package works.<BR><BR>Personally (single female) I would want to stay more central, 4th Marais or 5th Latin Quarter, *maybe* 6th or 7th. I know you can get around on Metro but I'd rather be able to walk to the sites & museums and have lots of lively cafes, shops, parks, restaurants, right at my fingertips.<BR><BR>I pick my preferred neighborhood, then find a hotel, in that order.
Apr 19th, 2003, 07:21 PM
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I think one must not be familiar with Montparnasse to claim that it is not near parks, restaurants, cafes or lively sites. It's a very popular area for cafes and restaurants, and is quite near Luxembourg gardens (the southern edge), as well as Montparnasse cemetery and some smaller parks. I wouldn't walk to museums from there but you can't walk to all museums from any location. However, I actually like it that most tourists want to stay elsewhere around the Seine and rue Cler and the Louvre.
Apr 20th, 2003, 01:53 PM
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I don't know anything about those hotels, but I would definitely try to stay in the 5th, 6th, or 7th districts. Even if you pay a little more, it's worth it to be close to everything, especially since so many sights are in those areas and especially the areas bordering the Seine. Just spent a week there and rented a gorgeous 1 bedroom apartment in the 7th, for 135 Euros a night. The 7th is decadent, very upscale and safe, with lots of government buildings around which means lots of Gendarmes patrolling. We had a kitchenette, living-dining area, TV, etc. After a full day of walking and sight-seeing, it's great to go back to an apartment where you can hang out for an hour or two before dinner, enjoy some wine, take a nap, etc. It gets a little cramped in the small hotels for a full week. My advice is to go for an apartment, in the heart of the city, if you're going to be there for a full week.
