I have questions about the 12th district of Paris. The Lux Hotel Picpus looks nice enough and the surrounding neighborhood also appears to be middle class or better. The hotel is located between Place de la Nation and Bois de Vincennes a block or so from the Picpus metro station. I read on account that Place de la Nation was somewhat of a red light district. Any feed back about the area will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tim

I'm reviving this thread since my husband and I will be staying in this district next month. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I've stayed in the area of Place de la Nation (11-12 districts) many times. It's a nice neighborhood with plenty of boulangeries, small grocery stores, brasseries, etc.. It's not a really a "tourist neighborhood" (and so you don't see some of those "tourist prices", either.) Metro access from Place de la Nation is superb. The neighborhood is close to Le Marais and Bastille neighborhoods. Feel free to e-mail me ([email protected]) if you have questions that I might be able to answer.

Thanks, Flyboy, but I probably should have been more specific about where we are staying. Our hotel, the Sofitel Bercy, is near the Bercy Expo and the Quai de Bercy. Any info about this area would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The Bercy area used to be where Paris's big wine warehouses used to be. The whole area has been redeveloped, with a cute open air mall using some of the warehouses, a great, brand new huge garden, a great, brand new, huge cineplex, a great, brand new, cute metro station on line 14 (you are two stops away from Châtelet, three from the Louvre). So, I would just say "go for it", it will make a nice change from boring, bourgeois 7th !

Just returned two days ago from Paris. We stayed at the Hotel Lyon Bastille on rue Parrot, very close to the Gare de Lyon. We liked the neighborhood - there was a variety of restaurants within a block or two, and the Gare de Lyon metro was convenient enough to all the usual sites in Paris. The price for a double room, excluding petit dejeuner, was about 90 Euros (booked through Travelocity). A breakfast buffet is available - I think it was 7 or 8 Euros.

Oops, just to clarify, the Gare de Lyon and the hotel I mentioned are in the 12th.