elle

aduren--if 75 euros is in your price range, you might check out the Hotel du Septieme Art in the Marais. Rooms are pretty basic, but the location is great (just off rue St. Antoine), staff is friendly. There's no elevator, but won't need that--you're an energetic 22!

The address is 20 rue St. Paul.

Airlawgirl

Agree with NYC and Oysters- when I studied some years back in Paris, all my Parisien teachers said that the Marais is tres "a la mode" meaning it was the hip fashionable area to live in. However I much prefer the Latin Quarter/St. Germain/Sorbonne/Cluny area as a place to stay and hang out in (and I too, think of these areas as more or less one) and this is the area that I believe a 22 year old will enjoy the most-lots of students, cafes, little boutique shops and the like all along the Luxembourg Gardens area-a stone's throw from the Seine, really just a lovely dynamic section of Paris-it's the area that I think really captures the Parisian essence and has little to do with an age- it's for all ages really.

LarryJG62

Elle was correct to write that the area east of the Marais is another trendy part of Paris. From Republique, down through Oberkampf to the Bastille, this area has many of Paris' branché clubs and bars. If you caught any of MTV's "Real World: Paris", the kids seemed to go clubbing there. Check out AvantGuide Paris for a travel guide with a more trendy/hip, youthful viewpoint.

awbaker

I second the recommendation for the store, Colette. It is very much like Barney's.

Also, I recommend that you have a drink or dinner at Alcazar, on rue Mazarine (in the Latin quarter, or technically probably St. Germaine.) They have a separate lounge with a glass roof overlooking the restaurant, great music, and it is very hip.

Singletail

Glad you like the idea of the Marais and I assume you have consulted with your daughter about the areas she might enjoy staying in??????????

Somehow I doubt a 22-year-old young woman going to Paris would look forward to hanging out with a bunch of students but I could be wrong. Enjoy your trip.

suze

I am not normally a "get a guidebook" kind of poster, but seems might be appropriate here. You could buy one for your daughter and let her read descriptions of the various arrondisements and see which appeals to her. I think this is good advice generally for traveling partners, because then for the bad or the good, no one has to take the blame or the credit for that matter on how things turn out. Having said all that... I stayed in the Latin Quarter near the Sorbonne and seems like that area would suit you both.

KellyNYC

aduren: out of the hotels you listed i actually stayed at the hotel practic on my very first ever trip to europe. while it is not plush it is inexpensive and does the trick. if you are good with budget hotels then you will be fine there. the people that run the place are nice and the location is great.

Airlawgirl

I had forgotten about the Bastille/Republique area- that actually is pretty much THE place to go in Paris for the hip club scene.

Beatchick

I stayed at the Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc last year. VERY reasonable & very quaint, very clean! And it's just around the corner from the loveliest little square full of little restaurants and the square is lively 'til 1pm (but the hotel itself is quiet). And they serve breakfast in room. If you do a search at the top you'll see some of my glowing comments about the place along with the website (www.hoteljeannedarc.com). Stefan is extremely nice but initially very droll. Doubles run 80-95 euros. Singles are 57 euros. The only problem is that it's always booked to the hilt so get your reservation now.

I also went to the Man Ray last year. Very, very hip and loads of 20-somethings. Other owners are Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, Sean Penn (recent Oscar winner, husband to Robin Wright Penn "Jenny", ex-hub to Mad Donna ), and John Malkovich.

Aduren, only certain parts of the Marais are really gay, that's the area around rue Vieille du Temple. A great area, to be sure. Rather arty little shops. The Marais has been compared to Greenwich Village of the 1960s. Having never BEEN to Greenwich Village in the 1960s (a smidgen before my time) I can't really compare, but it sounds nice!!

Amwosu, I think you & you're son will love the place!

Wren, I didn't try the food at Man Ray; it's basically tapas & sushi, I've read it's overpriced and not very good, but the drinks are good & the ambience is superb!!

Also, the Oberkampf/Menilmontant area is pretty hip, too! That's where Cafe Charbon is, isn't it?

JakeStaples

Hi. Why all the sturm and drang over the Marais vs The Latin Quarter?

I had the best of both banks. I stayed across from Notre Dame on the Left Bank, and had a five minute walk across the 2 islands in the Seine to the Marais.

I was on the same block as the Hotel Colbert, in an apartment over the AL DAR Lebanese restaurant.

Check out www.studiohelene.com for some great pictures of Paris too.

AlanM1

Stay on Isle St. Louis and you are right in the middle...equidistant to the Marais and Left Bank.

BlueSwimmer

I vote for the Marais/Bastille area for young adults. The shopping scene on Sunday afternoons is a trip, but the area should appeal to mom, too!

aduren-

We stayed at Hotel du Marais a couple of years ago. It is very CHEAP. No frills, no charm, extremely small room and bathroom, but it was clean and the price was right. Hotel Bretonnerie is very charming, and in a great location, but much more expensive.

Cafe Charbon was filled with an extrememly cool brunch crowd. Watch out for the real absinthe; it will knock you out.

I always keep an eye out for Johnny Depp in Paris, but so far- no luck.