Hotel California St. Germain
 

Anyone stayed here; 32 rue des Ecoles. What is nearby? I believe we can walk to Notre Dame? What about restaurants? Thanks!

You can try looking for hotel comments from past guests at www.paris.org

You can walk to Notre Dame/Ile de la Cite (Don't miss Ste. Chapelle inside the Palais de Justice law courts). You can also take a bateau mouche (Seine boat) from Pont Neuf at the pointy end of the island. <BR> <BR>Small Cluny Museum is nearby (tapestry of the Lady w/Unicorn), as well as St. Severin church and pedesetrian area. Very lively section, centrally located. Near St. Michel metro stop. <BR> <BR>Brasserie Balzar is on rue des Ecoles (yum, yum); Chez Rene on St. Germain, as well as many other restaurants.

In addition to the sites mentioned by others, the Pantheon is a couple of blocks from the California St. Germain. We enjoyed the video on Foucault's pendulum demonstration held in that building. <BR> <BR>We heard it was best to go to Notre Dame early to avoid long lines for the tour. <BR> <BR>We had a lovely meal at a CHARMING restaurant very near the hotel -- Le Coupe Chou on the corner of Rue de Lanneau and ? (recommended by the hotel staff). There was a fire in the fireplace, copper pots on the wall, an abundance of flowers in outdoor window boxes during our early July visit. <BR> <BR>Sunday morning? a HUGE crowd of people on rollerblades skated past the hotel. We watched them from our balcony for the several minutes it took for them to pass.

The rollerbladers were probably headed for the banks of the Seine which are closed to traffic on Sundays--fun to watch.