I like 4, 5 and 6 and also 11. I find the 7th too sedate.

Lots of good restaurants n walking distance. My new favorite is Caveau d'Isle on Ile St Louis. Chez Frenand , Le Christine and Rotisserie d'un Face all one Rue Christine are excellent. Le Bouquinistre on the Quai is excellent. Del Pappa on Rue de Seine is good Italian if you get tired of French! Le vaganade on Blve StGermain has good food and a brilliant interior

if you are staying for a week, have you considered renting a small apartment instead of staying at a hotel? last year we rented on rue des sts. peres right off st. germain blvd and it was an amazing week. each morning we took a walk to discover the best pain au chocolat, which was a pressure-packed search we untook with great enthusiasm. in the afternoon we would go to the neighborhood markets to buy wonderful ingredients for dinner. we enjoyed lunch at the many bistros and restaurants in the area or near where we were for the day. it could not have been more enjoyable. it has always been difficult to walk past the markets unable to buy the beautiful produce, etc, so having the kitchen was a huge plus for us. also, lunches are much less expensive then dinners, though the food is often comparable, so we saved money that way too. and if we were too tired to shop and cook, we always had the fallback option of going out like every other tourist and parisian in our neighborhood. in only a week we developed little relationships with the venders. it was wonderful. we are going to do the same thing in rome in october.

well, now that i read the entire post, i see that you have booked a hotel. great neighborhood. our all-time favorite restaurant is walking distance if you like to walk : L'Epi Dupin at 11 rue Dupin, near the sevres-babylone metro. best to make a reservation, lunch or dinner, as they are generally packed. such a great deal for the fixed-price menu. we also love les bouquinistes, already mentioned, near the river, but that can be very pricey at dinner, especially if your guest orders champagne for the table, which ours did, but does not pay for it... c'est la guerre! have a wonderful time.

When I'm traveling with my kids, I love the hotels with breakfast if they are the buffet style and not the continental breakfast type (which would be likt you could get at a cafe and probably preferable there). We stayed at Hotel Claude Bernard and the breakfast was great - eggs, pastries, cereals, hot chocolate, coffee, tea, and more. The breakfast room was on the first floor so we could see out. We got our money's worth with the kids alone.

So don't rule out a hotel breakfast, just ask the right qauestions!

I'd say Montmartre (XVIII), Ile-St-Louis (IV) or Marais (III).
If you want to save money, think of the out-lying XIV and XV.

I'd be interested in hearing people's experience about how many hotels serve buffets style. I could see the 'marquis' ones (George V,etc..), but how many of the 2 star/3 star.

What was the cost of the Claude Bernard one? I've often considered staying there, due to location and seeing it while out and about.

We were there in 2006 so I'm sure the prices have changed, but as I recall, a double room was just over 100 E at the time. They had some great special running. It was definitely a good price for what we got with the free breakfast. I would check the website as well as writing - sometimes I got different prices through email.

We also will book a breakfast package if it's a buffet as teenagers need filling. Mine think nothing of guzzling 3 or 4 pastries before breakfast!

We stayed at the Novotel les Halles in Nov 2010 (4 star according to website) and paid $169 a night inc. breakfast for 3.
The breakfast was the best part as it included smoothies, fresh fruit and all the usual hot and cold fare.

Michel--The Britannique has a nice buffet breakfast. I normally do not opt for hotel breakfasts either, but this one was good and we ate there twice during our stay.

You will enjoy the Grand Hotel des Balcons. I stayed there a week last April and was able to spend some time everyday at Jardin du Luxembourg. The hotel staff is great and helped me master using the bus system (best kept secret in Paris) which gave me a completely different experience because I could see so much more of this amazing city. Be sure to try Restaurant Polidor, it's close to the hotel, very reasonable, and all tables are shared. Bon voyage.

yeh, from what i could tell, generally across the board, those breakfast buffets were bout 13 euros per person and for 26 euros, that just seemed outrageous compared to a small croissant and cafe nearby.

There is nothing wrong with staying near the Arc. I stayed near there when i visited Paris, and it was just fine. It was 2 blocks from the Metro and 1 block from the shuttle buses to the airport!!

Hotel breakfasts are often 10-15 euro in Paris, and it is rather expensive, they make a lot of money off them. But frankly, you cannot buy a real breakfast very cheaply at cafes in Paris. 13 euro may not compare to a small croissant in a cafe nearby, but a small croissant isn't a full breakfast. Coffee in a cafe will run you 3-5 euro and it won't be the kind you may like for breakfast (it isn't for me as I don't like coffee with milk in it). Hotels will serve regular good coffee, not only espresso or cafe creme, which is all most cafes seem to sell even in the morning. If you buy a pastry and coffee from some take-out shop (like Paul's or Brioche Doree, whatever), it will be cheaper but you often don't have anywhere to sit.

I would guess that not many hotels would have a fresh fruit, bacon and eggs, french toast, etc...style of breakfast. More croissant, coffee and juice.

We were in Paris back in July 09 staying at a hotel(name?- sorry, senior moment)just half block from the Convention metro station. It was part of a air/hotel package with breakfast included, and we filled up on it. Everything from croissants, pastries,breads, cereals, fruit, eggs, bacon- usual North American BF fare. For me it was great because I have to eat gluten free and had options of eggs/bacon etc..

I'm reading everything I can and am more confused. We were trying to use our marriott points but that limits us to a hotel in 8 on CE or in 14. Any thoughts.