Airedaleamiga

I am planning WAY in advance,for our trip in September, 2014, that includes 3 days in Paris. I had thought that the Rue Cler area would be a charming area, but some of the reviews on Trip Advisor seem to say otherwise. What area would anyone suggest that would have a neighborhood feel that isn't too far out of the center of the city? Is there a hotel anyone would suggest? I know it sounds vague, but I'm just starting with trip planning. Thank you in advance.

Avalon2

Iagreewith the reviews Rue Cler area is much overrated IMO. Try to find something in the 6th loads of hotels on rue Jacob ..the danube, millesime deux continents,des Marrroniers or try the Marais or Ile St Louis areas

Gretchen

There are plenty of nice hotels in the rue Cler area, and it is a charming area. Hotel Muguet is very nice. Contrary to what many would have you believe, rue Cler IS a pleasant market street and is used by Parisians.

Ackislander

We rented an apartment once a few blocks from the Rue Cler, and it was where we did our shopping.

It was fine.

It gets dumped on because it is packed with Americans with their Rick Steeves guidebooks. Rick Steeves said it was a good place to go, so people do.

Our biggest problem was transportation. We prefer the bus to the Metro, but neither had really convenient schedules or connections to where we wanted to go.

We have stayed in the Marais near St Paul several times. It has convenient services, cafes, etc and great transportation. But it is very busy, though for good reason.

This past May, we rented an apartment just off a market street in the 14th near Denfert Rochereau. We never saw a tourist for a whole week unless we looked in the mirror, but hotels are fairly scarce in the area. In addition to the market and a lot of ethnic restaurants, it had both a Monoprix and a Franprix and fabulous transportation, but it wasnt near any of the Famous Sights/Sites.

adrienne

I stayed at Hotel Muguet once, a long time ago, and while I liked the hotel I didn't care for the area as much as the 5th or 6th. This was way before Rick Steves popularized rue Cler.

For a neighborhood feel (and there are plenty of places in central Paris that fit this description) I like Hotel des Grandes Ecoles. It's a very sweet hotel with a garden where you can have breakfast or bring back your own dinner fixings. It's very close to rue Mouffetard (a market street) and place de la Contrascarpe where you can have an evening glass of wine. It's within a 15 minute walk of Notre Dame (perhaps less if you walk fast but I always dawdle and look around me so I take my time).

http://www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com/

Gretchen

Ack, I find that pretty amazing--although I don't know where you want to go--there are 4 bus lines that serve that area--we also love the bus. But almost anywhere in Paris is a great place to be!! We have stayed at the Muguet several times and breakfasted on rue Cler and saw real Parisians doing the same!! LOL

suec1

I have stayed numerous times at Hotel Muguet near the Rue Cler and enjoy it area very much. I suggest NOT getting the hotel breakfast but go and sit at one of the cafes on Rue Cler and people watch. Yes you will see some tourists with their Rick Steves guides but you will see plenty, usually well heeled Parisians - shopping, walking childrent to school, meeting for coffee etc. You can easily stroll down to the Eiffel Tower and the park there, as well as many other places. It is failry quiet but not far from busier areas.

Sarastro

Nothing really wrong with rue Cler but I do not find it as easily accessible to other areas of Paris as are locations in the 5th or 6th, particularly those sections closer to the Seine.

My preference has always been hotels along rue Jacob. At one time when they were all 2 star hotels, there were actually cheap. Most, probably all, have now been upgraded to 3 star hotels and the prices have risen accordingly but still, with the time you have available, I´d consider such hotels and les Marrionniers, Hotel d´Angleterre, Hotel des 2 Continents, Hotel Danube or even the nearby Hotel St Germain des Prés.

justineparis

I find the area overrated by Americans who think they have discovered a market street paradise. There are markets and market streets all over Paris. My main issue with the 7th in general is I find it just not that central.. I much prefer the 4th 5th 6th and even would take the 1st and 14 th before the 7th. Also since I am alone sometimes I find too many deserted at night streets in the 7th a bit creepy when walking out at night.. I prefer a bit of life around me but much of the 7th is more residential.. fine for some folks i guess.

Anyways what is your hotel budget.. people can suggest places if you provide a budget.

Keep in mind September is a SUPER busy month, hotels do book up full by mid feb-march.. I would try to book by jan.. but its hard some places only take bookings so many months in advance.. often 6 sometimes less.

Shortlist a few places you like, check their cancellation policies.. ( I have booked a place and then cancelled when I found something better just to be sure I have " a bird in the hand")

StuDudley

Weve stayed in the 1st (3 days), 6th (3 weeks), east 7th (1 week), Marais (2 weeks), 14th (3 days), 15th (5 weeks) and the Rue Cler area (6 weeks). The Rue Cler area is our favorite - although for a first-timer I would recommend the 6th.

We found the bus access to be exceptional.
Buses serving the Rue Cler area:

28N 42N 63N 69 72N 80N 82 87N 92N RER-C Batabus
"N" desigates that the bus runs at night also.

Bon Marche 87N
Ile St Louis 87N, 63N
Jacquemart Andre 28, 80N
Louvre 69, 72N
Luxembourg 82
St Germain de Pres 63N, 69, 87N
Pl Madeleine 42N
Opera 42N
Arch de Triomphe 92N
Marais 69, 87N
Montmartre 80, or 80 to 30, 54
Castel Beranger area RER C
Belleville 63 (Odeon or St Michel) 28, 82 (Montparnasse), 69 (St Paul) to 96 OR 69 to 26
Train Bleu 87N, 63N,

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

>>I am planning WAY in advance,for our trip in September, 2014<<

No you're not. I booked our hotel for our Sept 2014 trip yesterday. The apt we usually stay in is already fully booked for Sept. I'm currently trying to book it for Sept 2015.

Stu Dudley

Christina

The area is fine for what you want. I don't consider anything "too far out" until you get to the outer reaches of the arrondisements in the upper digits from 12+ (and I don't mean all of them, except for maybe 19-20, I mean the very outer part of 12 or 15, for example).

I stayed in the Hotel Muguet once and it was okay. I wouldn't rave about it, but it was adequate and a decent location for that area.

StCirq

I stayed in the rue Cler area for the better part of 20 years (Hôtel Duquesne-Eiffel and Hôtel de France). It suited me fine, and there certainly have always been plenty of "real" Parisians out and about, many of them on the rue Cler itself. The swarms of rick Steves fans with their RS backpacks and guidebooks eating American breakfasts, though, eventually got to me, plus I just needed a change and started staying in other parts of the city - th 9th, 11th, 20th....

It's a perfectly fine area, though. Not exactly central, but with great bus connections. And if you tend to walk all day as I do, you can get pretty much all over Paris from there, except maybe Montmartre.