Another "Rue Cler" type area?
 

We have the opportunity to use Marriott Points to stay on the Champs Elysees at the Paris Marriott this September. It is located between Galerie du Claridge &amp; Galerie Point Show. The good point it will be no cash outlay; however, what I am looking for is also the ability to go to a nearby area where there are markets and shops for breakfast, etc. Is there an area very nearby that is similar to the &quot;Rue Cler&quot; area? <BR><BR>Thanks

DAJ,<BR><BR>I know that Rue de Buci and Rue Mouffetard are also areas with street markets, but both are Left Bank. Not much help for breakfast, but if you are in the neighbourhood lunch time....<BR><BR>Mike

I never saw any kind of market street just off Champs, but you could go to la Brioche Doree at 78 ave C/E and get some pastries there. Also, some of the cafes along the Champs might offer a coffee and croissant in the mornings, or maybe you will discover a place around the corner, off the main drag.

I was noodling around on www.pagesjaunes.fr, and here are 3 more 'cafes' right on your block, or a little down. Odds are they will have a petit dejeuner of some kind to offer:<BR>La Pause Caf&eacute; des Champs 66 AVENUE DES CHAMPS ELYSEES<BR><BR>D&eacute;li's Caf&eacute; 76 AVENUE DES CHAMPS ELYSEES<BR><BR>Caf&eacute; George V 120 AVENUE DES CHAMPS ELYSEES<BR><BR><BR>

Thank you Travelnut, I like the results of your noodling.

Dear DAJ :<BR><BR>The great thing about the CE is that it's tourist heaven. The bad thing about the CE is that - because it is tourist heaven - it is not necessarily typically Paris. No chance of a cosy corner caf� in the near neighborhood. Take it from me, I worked right off the CE for a year and it was hard to find good, inexpensive and cosy places to eat.<BR><BR>That being said, there are nice places for dinner (Chez Clement, directly on the CE, closer to the Arc de Triomphe; a really nice Indian on rue Balzac, one block off the CE and in front of the Hotel Balzac; L'Alsace, 39 Champs Elys�es). But I have to say, I always pitied the people living on or around the CE since there just are no corner Boulangeries anywhere to be found around there.<BR><BR>My advice? The Mariott probably offers croissants that are as good as you will find on the CE - and probably are part of the price of the room. Save your time and cash and go later for lunch to Mouffetard or Cler. You could even buy some produce and bring it back to your hotel for the next day if you like !<BR><BR>Either way, enjoy your time in Paris !<BR><BR>MB

DAJ: I've stayed at that Marriott on points too. The area is lovely but I prefer the Left Bank. Having said that, there are some Left Bank-y restaurants in the 8th just behind the Marriott. Try Aux Amis du Beaujolais on rue d'Artois, Tart'Arts on rue de Berri (Lunch only). There is also a relatively new branch of the wonderful tearoom, Laduree, on the Champs-Elysees. The cafe au lait macaroons are truly divine. And sitting upstairs sipping tea in a window overlooking the CE is one of the great Parisian experiences. I couldn't find any markets. The surrounding streets are all George V, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and other pricey havens. Just get a carnet of Metro tickets and go to the Maubert Mutalite stop on Tues/Thur/Sat mornings.

Redsoxgirl &amp; MB,<BR><BR>Great info that couldn't be found in a guide book. Thanks for the tips. I will definately put these in my word document that I'll be bringing with. I've &quot;double booked&quot; rooms for the Paris part of our vacation. 1 at the Marriott on the points, and 1 in St. Germain at the Hotel Danube. All depends on cash flow. I'd rather stay in the St. Germain area, but it's hard to say no to a free week. The first week may cost us plenty (driving Normandy &amp; either Brittany or Loire Valley).

Rue Cler may actually be closer to the CE, but Rue Montorgueil is a very nice Rue Cler type market street on the right bank, just a bit north of Les Halles. <BR><BR>It's mentioned on this website:<BR><BR>http://www.expatica.com/france.asp?p...p;item_id=9685

I don't know where this restaurant is in relationship to your hotel (it's a couple of blocks from the Arc d'Triomphe) but I had lunch at Vesuvio which was excellent � prix fixe 3 course ran around $18 including wine.

I copied the note on Vesuvio from my Word doc and don't know why a ? mark shows up. Very annoying - should have been a &quot;dash&quot; mark! Sorry.

DAJ and Nancy, for some reason, Pizza Vesuvio is usually the first dinner we have on arrival in Paris. I guess because it is a simple, no-fuss, fairly casual place. There are 2 of them - we haven't been to the one at 144 ave des C/E; instead we go to this one:<BR>From your Marriott Hotel, on the Champs, walk toward the Arc. At the cross street that is rue de Berri on the right and rue Quentin Bauchart, turn left and go to Pizza Vesuvio at #25.

Thank you all so much for the info. I'm feeling better about staying at the Marriott (nothing against Marriott,its the location), knowing some budget/moderate places to eat, shop and those that have character. If I wanted a Magnificent Mile (Chicago) area, this would be more than perfect. Nothing wrong with it, but that is not what I was looking forward to for our first trip/impression. However, cannot beat the price. Thanks again. Since we'll be arriving on Friday, I've figured at least 4 carnets of tickets for the week.

DAJ--Actually Mike is right about rue Buci being a great place. We stay right off of rue Buci and there IS a great place to get breakfast. It is Boulangerie Paul, 77 rue de Seine (at the corner of Seine/Buci)They have a little eatery inside that is scrumptious and reasonable and serves all meals. There is a huge viewing window on the street so you can watch the bread being made, too.<BR><BR>I'm salivating just thinking of it!<BR><BR>

The nice thing about Paris is you can stay ANYWHERE and get anywhere ELSE very easily. Enjoy your digs and then take the Metro or a taxi to where you want to hang out...easier to do in Paris than in a lot of other european cities.

The closest market street area to that hotel might be rue de Levis near Parc Monceau -- it's to the NW off the Villiers metro stop. Other than that, there are a lot of food shops in place Madeleine, of course. Neither is close enough that I'd go there for breakfast. The Champs Elysees is a big business area so you probably won't get residential street markets that close to it.<BR><BR>It seems to me there are some regular cafes and restaurants going towards the Seine, around Alma Marceau metro. Bar des Theatres at 6 ave Montaigne is a regular cheap cafe for all meals near there that Patricia Wells recommends, for example. That's near the Theatre des Champs-Elysees.

DAJ: the Rue Buci area IS nice. There's a new trendy restaurant/jazz club right on rue Buci called L'Arbuci. I was prepared to dislike it but the food was good. FYI The Hotel Danube is great, one of my favs, but a friend stayed there recently and said the street side rooms were terrible.

DAJ - To Rue Cler from CE take No 28 Bus from Rond-Point des CE, direction Porte d'Orleans (other side of CE from Marriott) and get off at stop Rue Cler, or Metro Line 1 from FD Roosevelt, direction Chateau de Vincennes to Concorde, corresponde to line 8 direction Balard and get off at Ecole Militaire (2 or 3 stops). Walk one block NE on Ave. Motte-Picquet (going away from Ecole Militaire) and Rue Cler is on your left. Either way about 15 minutes from CE Marriott.

If you like a before breakfast walk it's about a mile of pure joy on an early, September morning. My route is Rue Marbeuf to George V, across the river and veer left onto Ave Bosquet, to Pl de l'Ecole Militaire. Go left on Ave Motte-Picquet a block. Arrive around 0800 to watch things opening.

Take the bus back from Ecole Militaire, either No 92 direction Porte de Champerret to Ch. de Gaulle Etoile and walk down the CE, or No 28 direction Gare St-Lazare back to Rond-Pointe.

FYI-Across CE from Marriott is L&eacute;on de Bruxelles, to my taste the best Moules Sp&eacute;ciales (mussels} in Paris.

Enjoy!

I wonder why nobody ever describes Rue Cler as being &quot;too touristy?&quot; I've never seen so many people with Rick Steves' books at the ready in my entire life! :):):)

Bootman: too true about Steves clones on rue Cler