jkauff

My wife and I, and our 16 yr old daughter, will be staying at one of two Citadines in Paris late June/early July for nine nights. We don't know which one would be best.

The Citadines Saint-Germain-des-Prés address is 53 ter, quai des Grands Augustins.

The Citadines Bastille Marais address is 37, boulevard Richard Lenoir.

Are any of you familiar with these neighborhoods? We're thinking about daily amenities--sitting in a quiet park or cafe in the morning; some place safe our daughter could walk to or hang out to get away from her parents for a while.

The guide books aren't much help on the ambience of a particular address within a neighborhood.

Any help would be much appreciated, so we can let one of these reservations go ASAP.

margyb

Hi,

We stayed at the Bastille Marais Citadines last august--unfortunately during the 108 degree heat wave!

The hotel was terrific and had everything we wanted. But...the location didn't have a lot of amenities. The good thing was that the metro stop was super close, which made getting around very easy. The bastille and marias areas were also fairly close, but if you're looking for things right near the hotel, there wasn't a whole lot. We called that neighborhood the "kitchen sink" district. There were all sorts of stores for plummers and bathroom fixtures, but not a lot of cafes and shops.

But....I'd still probably stay there again. If you don't mind walking a few blocks to a boulangerie or cafe, then it's a great place to stay.

There is a terrific street market right in front of the hotel on Thursdays and Sundays.

One thing I noticed though when I went back to Paris in April of this year, was that the rates for the Citadines were nearly double what we paid just last August!

Have fun!

Margy

Flyboy

I can only speak about the neighborhoods. I would think there would be a premium for the St-Germain location, which is a very high demand area. That said, I'm fond of the Bastille-Marais area. Either will have plenty of bistros, brasseries, boulangeries, etc. within easy reach. Personally, I would likely choose the Bastille-Marais because of the heavy tourist traffic you will encounter at St-Germain -- but that's just me. At St-Germain, you will immediately walk out your door into a classic, wonderful part of Paris and that is exactly what a lot of people want and find memorable.

You can "walk" around Paris neighborhoods using a feature of:

www.lespagesjaunes.fr

Take a look for yourself. Whichever place you choose, you are planning a wonderful trip and your insightful thoughtfulness toward your daughter as you plan is refreshing, too.

Gretchen

I visited an apartment in the St. Germaine. Its location is terrific--you can see Notre Dame from the front.

mjs

Stay at the St. Germain. Much more convenient but more expensive than Bastille. Have stayed at St. Germain twice and would go back again.

jkauff

Thanks for all the quick responses. They're very helpful.