Hi Everyone,

I'm going to be in Paris for 2 nights at the end of February. I really don't know any hotels, so thought you could help. I'm looking for a really nice moderately priced hotel near the Eifel(sp?)tower, or one that is centrally located so I can set out on foot and not have to pay all sorts of fares. Is there a "hop-on hop-off" bus service in the city, which would probably be the easiest way to see Paris in a day. Thanks for any help and suggestions you may have.

Hi
May I suggest that you go through the
Paris superthread
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519236

please say how much you mean by moderately-priced. And, even with a centrally-located hotel, you will at some point want to take a bus or metro or taxi because you only have two days and you can't cover the entire city center on foot in that time.

If you click at the top of this screen on Destinations, Fodors offers suggestions for planning short visits to Paris.

I do not recommend the hop on/off buses. They're really expensive for a few miles of bus travel.

Plan B (do-it-yourself bus tour). Go to:
<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/tous_plans_pdf.php</b>
...and click on <u>Bus Touristique</u> for your map

Buy a Mobilis Pass for Zones 1-2 (at any subway station):
<b>http://www.ratp.info/informer/tarif_tourisme.php#mobilis</b>
...for unlimited travel for one day on any Bus, M&eacute;tro, RER, or Tram in Paris.

There are at least two common hop-on, hop-off bus services in Paris, which might work for you, but I really think just paying for fares would actually be cheaper, if that is your main goal. I know it would be, as you can get an all-day transportation pass, the Mobilis, for a bit over 5 euro, but those buses cost around 22 euro for a fare that is good for two days. One is called something like Opentour and the other Les Cars Rouges
http://www.carsrouges.com/

The buses can be nicer and perhaps easier than the metro, however, and for a total newcomer, it probably would be easier than figuring out bus routes. It's up to you, but it will not save you money. Of course in February, it may not be as attractive as in finer weather because you might not want to sit in the top open-air part.

It is true people's ideas of moderately priced do vary quite a bit, perhaps from 75 euro to 300 euro from various posts I've seen on the board--so maybe you might want to say what you had in mind. There are lots of good choices in the Eiffel Tower area, however, which is a bit cheaper than some others. The Relais Bosquet is one example, or the Bourdonnais, both 3* and maybe around 125 euro.

Airport shuttle:
http://www.parishuttle.com/
http://www.bee-shuttle.com/

Tourist buses:
http://www.paris-opentour.com/
http://www.graylineparis.com/
http://www.parisvision.com/fr/index.cfm

Seine cruises:
http://www.bateauxparisiens.com/main2.htm
http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/va/index.htm

Bicycle Tours:
http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/

Eiffel Tour:
http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/

Paris official Tourist Office:
http://www.paris-touristoffice.com/index_va_v2.html
http://www.parisinfo.com/en/

Another good one:
http://paris.fr/en/

Subway/RER/Bus info and maps, and also
Basic public transportation tickets/ Museum pass:
http://ratp.fr/ (click on &quot;International Passengers&quot; for English page)

Museums info:
http://www.museums-of-paris.com/index.php

http://www.paris-tourism.com/hotels/...nt_type=musees

Inexpensive hotels:
&lt;&gt;7th (near Eiffel)
http://www.hotel-du-champ-de-mars.com/
http://www.hotelmuguet.com/index.html
http://www.hoteldefrance.com/

&lt;&gt;5th (Latin Qtr)
http://www.hotel-collegedefrance.com/
http://www.hotelsorbonne.com/
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005stjacques.htm

&lt;&gt;1st (Louvre)
http://www.paris-hotel-louvre-forum.com/
http://hovicha.com/

<u>Paris &quot;Top 25 or Top 10&quot; lists:</u>

Skip #5, 17 nad 22 for such a short visit
#18 is currently closed for renovations
http://www.letsgo.com/PAR/00-DiscoverParis-197

http://www.travelswithfriends.com/De...ris-Top_10.htm

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentSe...=1051390058809

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...;feature=30005

<u>Fodor's Best in 3 Days (trim it down):</u>
http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...;feature=30002

Thanks for the suggestions about the hop-on hop-off buses . . did this in New York and it really worked out well. Anyway, I should have been more specific about what I mean by moderately priced hotels . . . probably anywhere from 120 to 160 a night USD. I would like to be around the Eifel Tower. I've been looking at a couple of Best Western hotels, one being the Premier Bradford Elysees. Please give me some suggestions. This is becoming daunnting. Thanks again!

I can recommend the Best Western Derby Eiffel, across the street from Ecole Militaire, 10 minute stroll from the Tower.

i don't mean to confuse you more, but...in my opinion i would not regard the eiffel tower area as the most central to sights if choosing to walk. the great thing about paris, however, is that the metro is so convienent from any area. my purpose in throwing this out is that if you have a friend who has stayed at a hotel and really liked it and the neighborhood surrounding it,i would go for that rather than an unknown...

Hi..since I'm already confused because I don't know Paris well, please suggest a central area to stay in and hotels that you like. Thanks

Hi
On this message board, the most popular areas to stay in are the arrondissements numbered 1,4, 5,6, and 7, with 5 and 6 way out ahead. All are central.
The 7th is adjacent to the Eiffel Tower, but being around the Tower itself is not as easily accessible in terms of transportation and strolling, especially if you are looking for lots of casual cafes and restaurants in the evening.
The 4th, 5th, 6th, and some areas of the 7th are better for that.

Have you looked at a map of Paris?
Let me again suggest the Paris superthread, and also, click above on Destinations and find lots of fodors info on Paris. One excellent map is Streetwise Paris, available at most chain bookstores and at amazon.com
It includes a metro map. The Paris Mapguide, by Middleditch, is also small and easy to use, includes a bit of tourist info, and also

...oops...
has a metro and a bus map.

There is no one &quot;perfect&quot; location that will allow you to walk to all the sites. If you stay in the 1st-7th arrondissements, you will be able to walk to many sights from any one of them. To help you frame this, open up a map of Paris. It is approximately a 1.5 mile walk from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre.
Do not discount using the metro to bridge any sights that you want to visit that are not in the same area. It is quite easy to use. Here are two good websites for explanation:
1) http://www.gisparis.com/paris/paris_subway.htm
2) http://www.atkielski.com/PDF/data/ParMetro.pdf

By the way, $120-160 equates to roughly 88-120Euro, which will generally be a 2* hotel in the single-digit arrs.

One poster's favorate hotel is in the 6th, a few blocks from the Seine, very central:
Hotel Bonaparte ** (no website)
61 rue Bonaparte, Paris 75006
Tel 33 (0)1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 (0)1 46 33 57 67
Someone posted a few pictures from their visit:
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.js...id=67281532606

The Grand Hotel des Balcons** is a nice, very popular hotel that is very central - doubles are 100-150Euro, but perhaps you can get a low-season discount.
http://paris-hotel-grandbalcons.com/index.html

I guess <b>L'Open Tour</b> is okay if you don't want to do your own navigation. A 1-day ticket is &euro;24; for 2 days it's &euro;3 more (compared to &euro;5.30 per day for a Mobilis card). Four routes, audio commentary.

<b>http://www.paris-opentour.com/index_eng.htm</b>

If you could find a hotel on one (or more!) of the routes, it might simplify your life enormously.

I can't answer most of your questions because I'm not a very experienced Paris traveler but one thin I can tell you and I think it has already been suggested, but I will state it again..get a map of Paris to use while doing your research. I got one at Barns and Noble and it had a meto guide, it marked the most visited sites, Luovre, Eiffle Tower, the Opera, Sacre Ceur etc and of course when you look at it correctly you know what north, south, east, and west is. It also showed the various arrondisements so it gave an idea of relationships between areas of the city and the various sites. I think if you get a map, and then check as you get the suggestions from the board and other places, you will find it much more helpful that just kind of &quot;floundering&quot; around. Also, you don't have a lot of time there and if you can orient yourself a bit you will spend less time getting lost. Getting lost is wonderful if time is not of the essence.

Can't recommend a hotel -- have heard good things on this website for Hotel Bonaparte.

Get a metro pass. Best way to travel, I think. Cheap and on time!

Two days is very limited. I would pick maybe 3 of your top picks. Museums are time-consuming and much of the best of Paris is outside the building. I agree with Crefloors, that getting lost in Paris is the best way to see Paris.

Enjoy!

Hi Savannah,

You will find very good maps of Paris at www.viamichelin.com, www.mappy.com and www.multimap.com

For how to get around Paris see http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/index.php