chmo27

My girlfriend and I will be traveling to Paris by way of automobile for 4 days from Dec 14-18. Since this is our first time to Paris, we need some advice on where to stay, either hotel or nicer hostel. We're not too familiar with each arrondissement. Just to simplify what we're looking for, I've created a list below:

1. Our nightly Budget: approx 80 Euros per double room with bathroom suite.
2. Preferred location: close to the city center. We really want to be around some of the cultural attractions as well as some great restaurants and bistros.
3. We need parking for our vehicle: How safe is Paris for parking? WHat is the cost of public parking per day? We plan on just parking the vehicle for the trip into the city and using the Metro.
4. We most definitely would like to meet other travelers or couples traveling abroad. We're 32 and 28. Are hostels most conducive for this?
5. Internet hook up would be a major plus (wireless preferred). How prevalant is it in Paris?

Any suggestions or recommendations would be so helpful. Seems like there are an endless amount to choose from.

MFNYC

check this thread for hotel ideas http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34881856.

alyssamma

chmo27,

I would suggest you do some research on the different arrondisements. Many have the type of things you are looking for. With hundreds of hotels that will meet your other criteria, it is probably best to find where you want to stay first.

Also, I'm not sure of the rest of your trip, but do you definitely need the car? Since you will just be "parking" it, you'll be paying (rental fees) for something you won't be using. Not sure if you have any flexibility there, but if so...

Many hotels now offer internet connections, so I think you'll be ok there.

No need to stay in a hostel to meet other travelers Bars, cafes, etc. work great for that.

You might also want to give Priceline a try. Since you are open to different hotels, you can probably get a great rate there. FWIW, we are going to Paris at the end of this month and paid $115 for Novotel Les Halles.

Lastly, on our first trip to Paris we were about your age. We simply showed up in the city and found a hotel in a location we liked. We paid $50/night and had a view of the Eiffel Tower (the room was about the size of a closet, tho ). But, the point is, you can get a good deal that way and also see your room before committing to anything.

Have fun!

Kevin

Christina

I'm no hostel expert, you can read some reviews and comments on them in other forums more geared to hostellers (eg, hostels.com or eurotrip.com). From what I've heard, Paris doesn't have the greatest hostels. I have no idea what kind of internet connection they'd have, although your budget is certainly fine for a hostel.

AS for parking, I do know parking garages are around 18-22 euro per day in central Paris. I'm not sure if that's what you mean by public parking or not, those are private garages but daily rates so anyone can use them. I don't know the cost on the street as I've never had a car there (if you can find a spot). The garages should be pretty safe. I'm not clear on where you plan to park your car, though, because you say you will park it for the trip into the city, but that you want to stay in city center.

I think hostels may be most conducive to meeting others, especially since you are only going to be there four days. Some hotels with common breakfast areas or something can always lead to that, but you never know. I stayed next to a real cheap hotel that was hostel-ish in the Latin Qtr and those folks seemed to meet others a lot. It is a very central, convenient location. You could look at that, it's Hotel Marignan:
http://www.hotel-marignan.com/

It's about your budget and has some communal areas.

Randy

You might try the Hotel Residence Monge ( www.hotelmonge.com ) The hotel is approximately in your price range and well located.

Parking in Paris is not easy. I think I would try to park just outside Paris and take the metro into the city. Maybe there are some other people out there to help you with the parking problem. I would not even want to drive in that city.

cls2paris

The Monge is very nice but it was 105 euro for a double when I was there in September. Great location and room!

ira

Hi C,

This hotel is within your budget and has been recommended by another poster.

www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75012lux.htm

It is not central, but is close to the Metro and 2 parking lots.

Leely

Might be booked, and it doesn't meet a few of your requirements, but the Hotel Jeanne d'Arc quoted me 84E/night over Easter weekend for a double. I didn't take it as I was looking for a twin, but it's a highly rated hotel on tripadvisor. I'm mid-30s and love that neighborhood. Also, I got the rate and the green light for availability by writing the hotel directly: [email protected].

Can't help you with parking, and I think it might be easier to meet other travelers in a hostel. Good luck and enjoy Paris!

chmo27

Thanks MFNYC, Alyssamma, Christina, Randy, cls2paris, Ira and Leely for all your input. Hotel Lux and Hotel Marignan are possible choices for us. Definitely in our budget. The more I read up on the city of Paris, the more it sounds like the 4th-7th arrondissements would fit our flavor. Unfortunately, it sounds dreadful to drive a car in the city. We have no choice since we fly into Frankfurt, GE. I've priced out rail passes from Frankfurt to paris to munich and back to Frankfurt. It seems it'll be a bit more expensive than driving. I like the idea of parking outside the city borders and commuting by train to our hotel/hostel. I need more input as to where it would be safe to leave the vehicle for 4 days. I'll post a new thread if I'm unable to search it on Fodors. Thanks again.

MaureenB

Maybe a Paris expert can give you information about which arrondisements are better for young adults. We stayed in the 7th, but I don't think I'd recommend it to you, because it's more quiet and upscale residential with very little nightlife. That's what we wanted, so we loved it there. But maybe you should consider the Marais, or the Latin Quarter? I'm not an expert, though.

There are so many wonderful little hotels in Paris, I'll bet you can find one in your price range without sacrificing the en suite bathroom at a hostel.

Have you priced the rail fare without passes? Sometimes point-to-point is cheaper. There's a Bayern Pass in Germany that saves a bundle, too.
>-

alyssamma

chmo27,

When you priced the trains, what site did you use? I ask because if you used something like Rail Europe, the prices you got were much too high.

FYI, Frankfurt to Paris will run you about 40 Euro (I just priced that on the SCNF website) each. 50 Euro each for Paris to Munich. I don't know Munich to Frankfurt, but it shouldn't be too much. So, 180 Euro or $225US. Say under $300US total with the MUN-FRA piece.

The cost of renting a car, tolls (expensive in France), gas, and parking should be that much or more. Also, you won't have the stress of driving or figuring out where to park your car.

Kevin

chmo27

Thanks again Kevin and MaureenB for your input. I'm actually rethinking our car rental out of frankfurt. I'm thinking that maybe we could save costs by using the rail from frankfurt to paris round trip. We could then rent a car for the last half of our trip to Munich, since Germany is much more receptive to drivers (and we can enjoy some high speed travel on the Autobahn ). Thing is though, our flight in to frankfurt is at 0730. Are there any cheap rail tickets to Paris soon after our arrival. We don't want to wait till 2200 to depart Frankfurt to Paris. Any suggestions on the cheapest way to commute to Paris roundtrip. We've never used railpasses in Europe. Thanks again.

chmo27

One more thing, where in Paris would the train drop us off? Would it be near the metro?

lindacormier

Hotel Des Trois Poussins (The Three Chicks) rue Clausel. One street away from Rue des Martyrs. In a small Parisian neighborhood with everything right there: small cafes, pharmacy, pastry shops, butcher, flower shop, etc...... My two friends and I stayed at this hotel for a week last February. It's quaint and in a perfect location---5 minute walk to Montmartre, 10 minute walk to Les Galleries Lafayette. I'll be going back to this hotel in June.

alyssamma

Ugh...sorry...I see the cheaper price is only for the later train. The earlier trains are close to double that amount

Still the fares might change so you can keep an eye on it.

ira

Hi ch,

Forget railpasses!

See www.sncf-voyages.com for Frankfurt/Paris and Paris/Munich

They are, respectively, 84E in a seat or 121E in a T2 cabin (night train) pp,
and
50E in a seat or 138 in a T3 cabin (preferred).

For Munich/Frankfurt see www.bahn.de

Full fare is 75E. You might be able to find a reduced fare.

Also check www.whichbudget.com for cheap flights.

Christina

chmo, all train stations in Paris also have a metro stop right at the train station, so no worry about that. I would have no idea where to park a car outside Paris for four days, sorry. I'm sure there must be some places, I just don't know them.

Bettina222

Hello,
I've been trying to find reviews of some of the hotels mentioned..
Hotel Jeanne d'Arc
and Lux Hotel Picpus but haven't been able to find them on Tripadvisor or Parishotels.com
Where could I find them?
Thanks!

Christina

I'm surprised Jeanne d'Arc isn't on Tripadvisor as it's mentioned in a lot of guidebooks. The other one doesn't surprise me.

A few other sources -- I think they have reviews on venere.com if the hotel is on there.

An oldie but goodie for me is www.paris.org/Hotels

You can search by arrondisement, then they are listed alphabetically. Both of those are on there with over six reviews. The only problem is those reviews are not individually dated, but still can be useful. Maybe you can also search by stars or alphabetically. Lux Hotel Picpus is in the 12th arr. and Jeanne d'Arc in the 4th.

I just looked at tripadvisor, and there were 58 reviews of Jeanne d'Arc Hotel on there. It's on rue Jarente in Paris (there is another one by that name in Paris, so don't read it). There were 10 reviews of Lux Hotel Picpus. I wonder why you couldn't find them, it was pretty easy.

Bettina222

Christina,
Thank you so much for your reply.
I have no idea why I couldn't find the reviews. I'll have to try again.
When you go on to Tripadvisor is there a way to get to certain hotels for reviews? I must be doing something wrong.