tostaky

Hi !

We will arrive from Montreal July 10 and we plan to stay 5 nights in paris with our kids ( 8 and 12 years old). We need a location that is safe, near a metro and that have some charm (Montmartre ?). Since we will be there on 14th july we could go see stuff related to bastille day (Parade ? Fireworks ? ) or maybe we have to avoid them for any reasons !

We have 32 days of travel so we must plan our spending wisely. I guess we coul do around 160 euro for lodging (hotel or appartment) in paris. Is it reasonable ?

Thanks !

jpie

A couple of suggestions. Since you will be there in July I would really recommend that you get a place with A/C-as much for noise as for the comfort from the heat. Also, I would be open to staying out of the center of Paris. Paris is actually a pretty small city so you will find better prices if you stay in neighborhoods that are still nice neighborhoods but not in the "heart" of the tourist areas. And finally, take a look at the Novotel chain. They have really good prices in the summer since they are primarily business hotels and they have hotels with A/C and they have family deals where accommodation and breakfast are free for 2 children under 16.

https://novotel.accorhotels.com/gb/family/index.shtml

When I go on booking.com and filter just for Novotel for your dates, there are some interesting choices that come up. The best value for money is the Novotel in Suresnes at 7 Rue Du Port Aux Vins, 92150 Suresnes. It is just to the west of the Bois de Bologne, so not a terrible location and it is $450 USD for the 5 nights.

Another good one would be the Novotel La Defense 2 Boulevard De Neuilly, 92081 Courbevoie, France for around $500 USD for the five nights. La Defense is a big business sector but the advantage is that is close to the Metro number 1 line which will take you to the areas near the river that most visitors want to be near.

There are others with better locations but of course more money. Anyway just a thought if you you are open to a more of a "vanilla" hotel. Not as charming of course but at $90/night for a nice room with A/C a very good deal for a family

kerouac

Montmartre is not indispensable although it is quite nice, but I would certainly recommend any of the other outer arrondissements of Paris, too, if you want to save on accommodations, restaurants and other minor expenses. All locations in Paris are safe, so you can eliminate that consideration immediately.

The parade and the fireworks are both excellent activities, but you have plenty of time to make plans about those, so you can forget them for the moment. Whenever you have chosen a place to stay, there will still be plenty of time to determine the other logistics.

If you would tell us whether this is an economical trip or one with a generous budget, it will be much easier to give advice.

Christina

A lot of countries have fireworks for their national day, France is no different. If you have ever been to such a thing, you know what it is like with the crowds, etc. It's not my idea of a fun time, I like watching them on TV (they really do a magnificent job). But that's up to you, just beware that some metro stops are closed and other issues to try to control problems and crowds. I really do like the military parade in the morning, France also does that magnificently. Some metro stps are closed for that, also, and you have to get there early to see anything, of course. There has been security in recent years, I believe, I know there was a couple years ago when I was there for that, meaning you had to pass through police control to get onto the Champs-Elysees and you were not allowed to bring certain items, your bags were searched. Water bottles, as I recall were forbidden.

All the metro stops along the CHamps-Elysees are closed in the morning as I recall. I got out at Kleber but I like to go near the Arc as it isn't so crowded up there (I thikn you do miss a little but it's easier). A lot of stops around the Champ-de-Mars are closed in the evening, also, most of them near the Eiffel Tower, like Bir Hakeim, Dupleix, most of them. I think you have to get out at Pont de l'Alma and I'm not sure if Ecole Militaire is closed or not. Farther away ones are open like Varennes. The RER C stop at Eiffel Tower is closed around 7 pm.

There is a concert before the fireworks, so you should try to get there around 7:30-8 pm maybe. The fireworks aren't until much later which is one of the reasons I like to watch on TV (I think around 11 pm).

In short, you can't just wing this, I hope you know French and can find out the latest in the news.

kerouac

Ah, I see that Christina is the opposite of me and only wants to concentrate on July 14 and not the rest of the trip. That's fine, too.

jpie

I think from earlier posts when they were exploring going to the US the family is from the Montreal area and French speaking so I don't think language is a concern. But Christina's comments about the metro closures (which I hadn't remembered) might be a good reason not to stay at the Novotel La Defense (in general anyway it is really kind of a strictly business area with high rises-so not the most favorite for visitors).

I am totally in agreement with kerouac that so many people focus on staying near the city center that they miss both great bargains they could get by staying in other neighborhoods but also they miss an opportunity to stay in really nice places that won't be as jammed with tourists in July!

As you get closer to looking at actual properties-either hotels or apartments, if you give us an idea of their neighborhoods we can give you much better advice on the location, etc.

tostaky

Thanks for all those answers !

Novotel seems like a good option. We usually like to have an appartment but going out of a plane and have an hotel were we can leave our lugagge and maybe got our room right away wihout much hassle can be fine too.

We all speak french, in fact french is our first language.

We made 5 family trip in Europe in the last 5 summers and we have always manage to have good lodging/food/activities with a dayly budget of 275 Euro. Some places would be more expensive somes other less, Paris would probably be in higher range !

jpie

The good thing about Novotel is that you book it with free cancellation and that gives you time to see if you want to stay there. And if you decide to look at apartments you may have run across the many discussions about legal and illegal apartments in Paris-so be sure to check on licenses. If you don't want to have that worry you can use some of the "appart hotel" chains in Paris-many of them owned by Accor or Marriott like Adagio Citadines, etc. Then you won't have to worry about them being legal and you can probably book them at a rate where you have a free cancellation period versus most airbnb and VRBO type places.

Also, I can't remember if you said you have been to Paris recently, so I don't know if you are aware that taxis are now a fixed rate to and from the airports

The new fares are:

• 50 euros between Charles de Gaulle Airport and the Right (north) Bank of the Seine.
• 55 euros between Charles de Gaulle Airport and the Left (south) Bank of the Seine.
• 30 euros between Orly Airport and the Left Bank.
• 35 euros between Orly Airport and the Right Bank.

Furthermore, taxis will no longer be able to apply top-up fares for baggage or pets, although a fifth passenger will incur a four-euro charge.

So that might be a good way for you to get into town for not too much more than the RER/metro since your your oldest child will have to pay full price anyway. And a taxi always seems like a nice treat after a long flight.

bvlenci

The Adagio chain has apartments, including one and two bedroom apartments, as well as studios, in a hotel setting. If you use booking.com to reserve them, you can cancel without penalty up to a certain date. They have a nonrefundable option as well, at a lower cost.

I had reserved an appartment at the Adagio Buttes Chaumont, but canceled it when I found an apartment outside the city limits that was larger and cheaper. Kerouac and others assured me that the Buttes Chaumont was at an excellent location.


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ahbonvraiment

tostaky

Thanks a lot.
No charm hotel is really not a problem. No charm neigborhood is another story. With the kids we wont enjoy nightlife but coming back in a nice neighborhood after a long day could be more fun of course.
We will have to pay more ( a lot) than what we thought. Hope to find good deals for the rest of the trip !

kerouac

You can find good places and good hotels inside Paris, but you should just avoid the tourist hell of the center. Take a look at the Holiday Inn Express in the 19th or maybe some of the Ibis Styles places in some of the outlying areas. There is no need to panic at all yet, because you have so much time to plan this trip.

I will confess that one of the reasons that I mentioned the Holiday Inn Express in the 19th is because it is next door to one of the best fireman's balls in Paris, and children are fully welcome at these events if you are willing to not worry about their bedtime for once.

Here is an old report about the event, but one thing to know is that this fire station is literally across the street from the hotel.

The firemen's ball | Any Port in a Storm

Surfergirl

Try looking for a place in the 14th. We always stay at Aiglon at Raspail and Edgar Quinet, which does have Apt. A by the breakfast room. It is absolutely fabulous and quite huge (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) but more than you want to pay. I'd splurge and stay there, or in their suite, which is less expensive, and the kids would have to sleep together on the sofa bed, but still 2 bathrooms. The location can't be beat, with the Metro right across the street, a Weds and Sat. mile long market along Edgar Quinet, very lively along Montparnasse Blvd and its environs, a short walk away. And the kids will love rue de Montparnasse with its many Creperie restaurants. Great bars and nightlife!

Then, the night before, the firemen's bals (a piss up in a fire station!), the St. Suplice fire station is the closest and really the second liveliest in Paris (IMO). You need to get there early, because the lines will get very long to get in. Our favorite place to park ourselves on Bastille Day morning for the parade (and get there early for the tri-colour fly over) is at the National Assembly ([i=left]Assemblée nationale[/i].) Metro stop the same name, or if they close that, then get off at Solferino and walk. I suggest this, as it's sort of the end of the parade, and getting to the Champs Elysee with all of the closures means really long walks, then huge crowds where, with children, it's hard to see unless you buy one of the cheap periscopes that people sell along the route.

For evening, and the best view and audio of the fireworks is getting a special cruise on the Seine, the one that starts at 8 p.m., and circles around, then stations itself by the Eiffel Tower with views to the Trocadero. The last few times we did this, we booked with Vedettes de Paris, and you get a special pass that allows you to get down to the Quai and board. You will need to get there early. Least expensive option is non-dinner cruise. We've done this with our son since he was 4 years old. They serve a glass of champagne (if you drink, and all ages ok) as part of the deal, but have drinks (alcohol and non-alcohol) and snacks, or you can do as we do, and BYOB and kick back. It's great, because you can hear the choreographed music played with the fireworks.

The downside is you'll probably have to walk a long way to an open Metro station and get packed in with the hoards, while close to being pelted with firecrackers. If your kids don't like a lot of noise and are nervous types, this may not be a good option for you! But it's fun for the more adventurous!

kureiff

Fodorite018

Take a look at the Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse. We stayed there when our kids were a tad younger than yours and it worked great for us. The Pernety metro stop was just a couple blocks away, so no big deal. They have family rooms, and I looked and they do have two rooms that would fit your family, but the rates area bit higher than 160 euro per night. For 5 nights it came to 990 euro. FWIW, we had a great stay there years ago, but the current reviews are good, and the location has not changed

menachem

The area around Pernety is "small village" Paris and quite wonderful.

tostaky

Thanks alot for all those answers and ideas !

The answer was obvious and not surprising: If we want good location we will have to pay a good chunk of money !

We have to take a good look at our options, we have 32 nights of travel, We cant afford to pay 300 euro for all those 32 nights.!

jpie

I totally sympathize with the need to figure out where to budget and where to splurge on lodgings. We are doing the same thing on an up-coming trip to Portugal-spending the "big bucks" in Lisbon but staying in much less expensive properties in other small cities as we travel aorund.

I also agree that it is probably worth it in Paris to get closer to a more central neighborhood versus out in the suburbs. But really most places inside the Périphérique (the ring round around Paris) will be in nice neighborhoods with good connections. You will find that you pay a premium as you get closer to the river though. And you may be able to use the Novotel deal for "kids stay for free" in another city.

kerouac

Unfortunately, most of the regulars on the Paris forum love their usual hotels and absolutely want you stay in them -- or even just their favourite area -- even if it breaks your budget. Only a few of us work with the amount you want to spend to give you suggestions within your budget.

Luckily, you still have plenty of time for your research.

Coquelicot

If you rent a car, you can stay at B&Bs in the country where prices are usually lower than in towns, and definitely cheaper than in Paris. We usually pay 65-70 euros for two people, and that includes breakfast.

I checked the websites of two B&Bs we often use, just to see what they'd charge for four people. One place has a four-person room for 99 euros. Another of our favorites has one three-person room that could probably fit in a fourth child; for two people the room is 48 euros, plus 15 euros each extra person.

Most B&Bs will give you a better price if you stay 2 or more nights.

We use the gites de france website. You put in your destination and it will give you all the choices, which includes weekly rentals (gites) which we don't want. We then have to do a second pass to get links to chambres d'hotes rather than to gites.