MaLloyd

Hey, my family and I are headed to Paris and into Switzerland next month from the 15 - 25 (15-19 Paris and 19-25 Switzerland) and we are trying to figure out where to stay in each. There are 6 Adults and 1 Child. There are several different 'districts' in Paris, which ones are best to stay in?
For Switzerland, we are looking at staying in the Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen or Wengen area - I've also heard Berne and Lucerne are nice? Are there certain places people recommend between these? Also, should we move places halfway through or stay put in one?

Any Bed and Breakfast/hotel/apartment recommendations? Nothing too expensive.

Thanks,
Matt

Christina

There are 20 districts in Paris. YOu probably want to stay in the ones closest to the center, they are numbered starting in the center and going around clockwise, several layers. You probably have a map. So you'd likely want 1-7 and 9-15.

Lucerne is nice for a day or two, but it doesn't merit a long stay as there isn't much to do there.

THat is a lot of people to try to figure out how to house (7) especially since 6 of them are adults. If you book a hotel, how many rooms do you want, I presume some of them are couples and want their own room or are they all adult children? So you have 4 nights in Paris. YOu could try to get an apt., but you won't even find many apts for 7 people, 6 being adults, so that actually may not be cost effective in this case. Could be, depends if you want to go to that trouble.

Here's a hostel-type hotel in Paris with lots of room possibilities, is that what you are looking for, or are you wlling to spend more? http://www.hotel-marignan.com/

a 2* hotel will likely run you around 100 euro per double room in the center, maybe more.

MaLloyd

Thanks for the quick reply. We are a family, so all staying in one place together is not a big deal, but its not necessary we are together either. I have been trying to use this site to find a place: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...ce/paris/r1216

Also, as I was reading I realized I misspoke - there are 7 adults and 1 child so that makes it a bit harder.

Our price range is around $250 - $300 per night, but if we can find something cheaper, that works even better but that may be hard.

As for Switzerland, would be good staying in Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen or Wengen for the full time?

scatcat

I have stayed in Wengen three times and I will be there again in September. So, as you can tell, I am partial to Wengen. I have considered Lauterbrunnen since train connections are easy, but I always end up in Wengen. I stay at Hotel baeren and I think they have an apartment.www.baeren-wengen.ch

MaLloyd

Thanks scatcat, I sent them an email for pricing. Any recommendations of what must be done while in Switzerland?

scatcat

I loved the Jungfraujoch adventure! I have done it twice. Yes, it is expensive, but the views are breath-taking and I loved the ice palace.. The Mannlichen car right in Wengen takes you up to a hiking trail on to Kleine Scheidegg. Nice, very easy walk. Last June I went up to the Schiltorn. It was less expensive and nice views there also. And there are a couple of walking trails that are nice. Grindelwald was a nice change from the quiet village of Wengen. There are two cable cars there. I took the cable car to First. If you have a Swiss pass, the train to Interlaken then on to Brienz was nice. I took a boat back to Interlaken. Very pretty! There are lot of things to do and see. I'm staying 5 days in September and I'm sure I won't get bored!

Christina

Your budget is $250-$300 for 7 people? That is only around 170-200 euro or 25-30 euro per person, which is about the price of a hostel. If you find apartments that suit you for that rate and are free, sounds like a good idea, although I would never rent an apt for only 4 days myself, it's too much trouble for me. There are a very few 1* hotels in Paris that might be that cheap, or around 50-60 euro for a double. But this is just next month so some things may be booked up.

That place I gave you in Paris might be that cheap, of course you can look. It is a very good location. This 1* hotel is in a nice location, not dead center (which is why it is cheaper) but very close by metro, and its doubles are around 60 euro but that doesn't have a bathroom in the room http://www.hotelportroyal.fr/

This hotel has doubles with shower for close to 60 euro, it is very central and near the Hotel Marignan (and Notre Dame) http://www.commerceparishotel.com/

jasmine3

I don't think your budget of $250-$300 for your party size is realistic for either Switzerland or Paris.

I am taking my family of 5 there in June.
Here are suggestions we used.

Wengen- swissmountainchalets.com might have some chalets you can rent. They have been very helpful in our planning.

Paris- vacationsinparis.com. They have some nice apartments in Dauphine Place which is very nice where you might be able to find an apt. for your party size.

MaLloyd

@ Christina, jasmine3 thank you for the recommendations. We are looking more closely at the money and realizing it may be more to fit us all. We haven't had much of an issue finding places in Wengen, but Paris has been harder. In Switzerland, we've looked in Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and Wengen - Are there any other places near those you would recommend looking at?

kwren

If you click on my name and scroll down to the trip report section, you'll see I have 2 trip reports that include the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald areas (and much in between) and everything we did. We did different things on each trip to Switzerland, so if you have time, scan both for some ideas of activities. Just be forewarned that Switzerland is very expensive. Search for threads on train passes!

MaLloyd

Thanks @kwren. We have good options for both of those area's (including Wengen)for places to stay. Now just trying to choose which one. Wengen sounds really nice, but we aren't sure if we want the hassle of having to take a train back and forth each day to our car. Overall, it sounds like all these places are fairly close, so it really shouldn't be a big deal between any of them right?

kwren

You won't need your car to do the things I wrote about. Just stay in that area for a chunk of time without using the car, and then if you choose to spend time in another area as well, get your car at that time.

What places are you looking at in Switzerland?

MaLloyd

@kwren We are between Grindelwald, Wengen, and maybe a Bnb (Haus Schonegg) in Kiental if they can fit one more of us. In Grindelwald and Wengen we have 2 or 3 places in each to stay and fit us all.

MaLloyd

We were able to get an apartment in Paris booked and a place in Grindelwald. Looking forward to the trip. If anyone has recommendations of must see things to do please let me know!

MaLloyd

Also, and food recommendations would be great! One of my favorite parts of traveling.

kwren

Fondue!
Crepes!