Hotel in Montparnasse vs. St. Germain
 

My husband and I will be going to Paris for our first time in September. I have been looking at the Hotel de la Paix in Montparnasse. http://www.paris-montparnasse-hotel.com/uk/index.php

The reviews on TripAdvisor are great and it is very close to a metro and RER station. My only concern is that the hotel is quite a distance from most sights that we will be visiting. We tend to use public transportation when visiting other cities and don't have an issue with using the metro, but I am worried that the travel time will hinder our sightseeing (will it?). The price is right (112 EUR) as we are on a budget, but is it worth it? I would like to keep our hotel around 120 EUR although we could afford up to 140 EUR if it would be a better option.

I am also looking at a couple of hotels in the St. Germain area (Hotel le Clement and Hotel College du France). They don't look quite as nice as the hotel in Montparnasse and cost a little more, but I do think the location is more ideal.

I appreciate your opinions!

We've (DH and I) have been to Paris a number of times, and have always stayed in St. Germain. While some say it's not authentic, it's "authentic" enough for me. I like the cafes, both for breakfast in the morning, and for drinks late in the day, and the various stores and shops in the area. I love the location, within walking or metro distance of many sites (we walk A LOT). I tend to get up early in the morning, so from St. Germain it's easy for me to get out and about for a run around Ile St. Louis or along the Seine. That's why the area works for me / us.

For our next trip (with DH and our kids), I seriously pushed staying in Montparnasse, and liked what I saw in terms of stores, shops, cafes and hotels. Also easy to get around from there by Metro. But the rest of my family really wanted the more central location of St. Germain, vs. what I pictured as the more residential untouristy area of Montparnasse. So that's my take on the two areas. (I've only actually been in the Montparnasse area once, so most of my opinion is based on the research I did in choosing a hotel.) For a first trip, I'd suggest St. Germain due to the location.

BTW, to me, anything to the east of Boul. St. Michel is the Latin Quarter, not St. Germain (not sure if that's the "real" dividing line). The Latin Quarter can be very noisy at night, so between the two hotels you mentioned, I would not pick Hotel College de France.

Montparnasse isn't that far away from most of the sights. You're going to use the metro anyway.

We have stayed in Montparnasse twice, once on our fist trip and then again this last summer. Have also stayed in the 1st a few times and the 7th. I much prefer this area of Montparnasse. Our apt this summer was very close to this hotel and so we got to know the neighborhood pretty well. It is very easy to get around to all the sights and there are quite a few metro stops right around there. Your hotel looks great and if this were me, I would jump at it, FWIW.

The Montparnasse hotel does look excellent value for money. Personally I prefer to pay more because I think St. Germaine and the Latin Quarter have more charm than Montparnasse and we use public transport less while staying there. I notice on that hotel website It gives you the times by Metro or walking from there to different parts of Paris and that might help you decide?

I forgot to mention something about walking. We walked from our apt (right around the corner from the Vavin metro stop) up to the Marais and back one day. We did similar walks quite often, so you don't have to take the metro to see the sights if you don't want to. Obviously it saves time, but we enjoyed the walks and found the routes quite pleasant.

This is an interesting property. Thank you for calling it to my attention.

It is very close to a lot of public transportation including really good buses to the Marais and beyond and to the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. It isn't really very far and is an interesting walk down into St Germain, esp if you stay off the Rue de Rennes, a major traffic artery. It's all uphill coming back, so that's when you want to take the Metro or bus!

The general area is pretty bustling, with lots of movies and cafes, so there will be people around to all hours, but I see in the photos that the windows are new and with air conditioning, you shouldn't be bothered. If you stay there, let us know how it was.

Montparnasse isn't far out at all, it's only a couple metro stops from the Seine. But whatever bothers you, if that does, don't stay there.

I frequently stay across the street from that hotel and it is a very convenient location but was never that great a hotel, a low-level 2*. Perhaps it has changed, though, and renovated, if a lot of comments on Tripadvisor sound authentic and rate it well. It is a very good location, however. True, I wouldn't call the area "charming." Don't see the charm in lots of St Germain, either.

I just looked at the website, and they have renovated. I think it's fine for your budget, which is quite low for that peak hotel period (Sept). SO I'm not sure you could do bettter at that rate. OF course the rooms are very small, and it appears they do not have closets, but that may go with that price. I'm surprised you don't think the others look as nice as this one but if so, I wouldn't let the locaiton bother me. But if it does, I would think the other two hotels are just as nice from what I've seen and heard (I do know someone who stayed at one).

When we stayed in Montparnesse we did quite a bit of walking anyway. Paris is more fun if you walk it, imo.

Agree that eitherlocation, based on public transit, is fine. Personally, I like being close to the Seine, for a daily visit. St Germain adds convenience of walking to some sites. Benefit for Montparnasse is seeing a bit more of non-touristy Paris

On our first trip we stayed in the Montparnasse area. We absolutely loved the corner of Montparnasse & Raspail. So much so, that even though we now choose to stay on Ile St. Louis, we always find time during our stay to return.

So many great restaurants and also our favorite children's store "Mini Junior" for our grandkids.

During the day if you walk through Lux. Gardens towards St. Germain, it doesn't seem so far and it's a beautiful walk.

The Hotel looks nice and think of the adventures you will have on your daily walks. I'm actually bookmarking it in case we ever decide to stay in that area again.

Thank you, everyone, for your comments! This has been very helpful...I was leaning more toward the Montparnasse hotel and most of you seem to think the location is ideal. While Google Maps helps quite a bit in looking at places, nothing beats real people who have been in the area.

I think that most of my reasoning for thinking the Montparnasse hotel looked nicer was based off of the reviews, especially with comments pertaining to the staff. Room size is not much of an issue for us...we live in a tiny house. While I would love to stay in a "charming" area, I would rather spend the money we have on what we do than where we sleep (to an extent!).

I will definitely post a trip report when we get back, so you all can know what we think!

good, that will be useful, I'd like to know.

I think the Clement looks the nicest. I thought you meant actual looks of it, not things like staff, so I guess you meant that in a general sense not actual "looks" per se. that word does cover both cases