Hello travelers,<BR>My husband and I fly to Amsterdam next month (mid-October) and ten days later fly out of Paris. <BR><BR>We will stay with a friend in Amsterdam for a few days but we are looking for a budget to moderate hotel ($100-$150?) for the bulk of the visit in Paris. Having a tough time deciding on which one -- they all seem wonderful on the Fodors sight. Interested to hear from those who have been to Paris as to which ones were preferred and why. We were thinking of Left Bank and/or Latin Quarter . . .?<BR><BR> Also, we haven't decided exactly how to make our way from Amsterdam to Paris. Fly directly? Take a day train and enjoy the scenery (fall colors in that area in mid-October?) or take an overnight train? Any recommended stops along the way? Brussels, Dusseldorf? Others? <BR><BR>Many thanks for any and all suggestions.<BR><BR>Michele<BR><BR>

Michele,<BR><BR>We love the Marais area. It is a quiet area with many small museums, shops and restaurants. Try the Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc. It is small, clean and the price is good around $75.00 per night. Also I think the train from Amsterdam/Brussels is a wonderful trip. It is not a long trip and a nice way to see the countryside and catch your breath between cities. Have a wonderful time on your trip. I think Brugge and Brussels are worth a stop from the train. Maybe just a short stop if you are in a hurry to get to Paris.

Michele, it appears that you have an idea of what hotels you'd like to stay at. Many of us at this forum can give you a whole list of preferences, however, I notice that you plan on visiting Paris next month. To make reservations at this time is really going to be challenging as Paris in October is a very busy period there. My family and I are visiting next month also and we made reservations since March. I think you should try an internet res. service called www.laterooms.com as suggested by many people here. You may get a room within your budget range at this late time. <BR>I would suggest you do a "search" regarding the most popular hotels, but this option is not available at the moment. A couple hotels that are very popular are Hotel des Grandes Ecoles and Grand Hotel des Balcons which are on the Left Bank and that is one of the best locations to be in. Good luck!

I would also emphasize the above tips from Chris -- I don't think you realize how busy Sept-Oct are in Paris, you need to get a room NOW. It is unlikely that any of the most-recommended hotels on here will have rooms at this date, but I guess you can try, but that can take a lot of time, so you'll have to find hotels with good communications or make phone calls. I imagine if you've read a lot of posts on here, you already have read lots of recommendation of hotels at that price range on the Left Bank, so you might want to make some choices.<BR><BR>As for the travel, I would never take a night train for that trip -- it's not that long by high-speed train (less than four hours). I wonder if they even have night trains. I don't like flying when there is a good, fast train system available (flying is too much trouble, you have to get to the city from the airport, and you are more likely subject to delays). I have taken the train between Paris and Amsterdam about that time of year (late September) and don't recall the scenery as being anything that special, although it wasn't terrible--I enjoy scenery from train windows in most cases.

Les Rives de notre dame is on quai st michael in heart of latin quarter. a few more dollars than what you indicated but well worth the extra few dollars.

You need to make your reservation soon, but it's not too late. We just made a reservation for the end of Ocotober at d'Angleterre a very popular left bank hotel.

To everyone who replied to my post: Thanks for your advice to get a room in Paris NOW. I spent most of my available time yesterday calling/faxing hotels (and managed to go out and vote, too!), but every place was already booked for October. So, I'm up and at it again early this morning and was able to book the last room available at the Hotel Bonaparte in the Left Bank. Whew, close call. Thanks for the gentle, but urgently needed, kick in the pants. <BR><BR>Now I can relax and enjoy reading all of the posts about Amsterdam and Paris. I think I've found a new addiction -- late night reading on this site. <BR><BR>All of your suggestions and comments were so welcome and so helpful. And it's so cool to see so many people offering up their experiences and sharing hints, advice, etc. What a wonderful resource!<BR><BR>Thanks again for sharing your ideas and expertise. <BR><BR>Now, I must get back to reading these great posts. <BR>Michele

Michele, I'm glad that you were able to reserve a room finally. The Hotel Bonaparte has gotten many favorable comments here and in guideboods, so you made a great choice.