I have been to Italy dozens of times but this trip to Paris will be new to me. I am a single 60 year old woman fairly confident of traveling alone. I have decided to spend 2 weeks in Paris and do several day trips out of the city. I still haven't decided hotel, apartment or B&B but my first step is which area to stay in. I need a safe, interesting area either close to the train station or close to the Metro to take to the train station. Once I determine an area, I will then start looking at accommodations. Merci.

why don't you try Saint Germain des Près??

I was going to say the same thing. Just stayed there with my mom and we wandered all over at night. It was safe and had Metro stops all over the place.

Paris is not very large as cities go and getting around is quite easy. For your day trips, departure station from may vary but you can reach all of them via Metro.
I have become an ardent apartment fan for Paris, especially for a 2 week stay. If you are comfortable in a studio or small one bedroom you should be able to find one that will cost no more - and maybe less - than a two or three star hotel and provide more space.
I'd suggest you look in the central area especially arrondissements 3,4,6,7,11,12 and may 13,14. There are also some nice places in 10 and 18 but some parts of them are a bit seedy; 1 and 2 are OK. There are also some nice places in 6th, in the Passy area. All of these would be close enough in for you to get around pretty easily. If you do a search here for Paris apartments you will get lots of advice. Also take a look at www.vrbo.com, and if you find a place you like come back here to see if anyone knows it. Bonne chance!

I agree with St. Germain des Pres. I was 24, alone in Paris for 10 days, felt safe at all hours and loved to walk to the Seine and then decide to make a left towards Quartier Latin, a right towards Les Invalides, or just cross the bridge to end up at the Louvre, again.

Got my left mixed up with the right, sorry.

re: above post - typo: "Passy" is in the 16th (rather than the 6th)

My wife and I (senior citizens) stay in the 6th at the Hotel Pas des Calais. I know you haven't decided on where to stay but think if you decide on a hotel this will meet your needs. Just off blvd St.Germaine and close to metro and many shops and restaurants and walkable to many areas. Check it out.

We are also "of a certain age" and prefer the 7th, on the Tour Eiffel side. Paris Perfect has a lot of rentals in this area, most with great views. If you lack language skills, a hotel might be best, Le Walt is well situated and near the metro, taxi stand and bus lines. At least a dozen afforable and good restaurants are a short walk away. Hotel Cambon, in the 1st, is close to the tour bus site on rue de Rivoli and oe block from the Concorde metro. Both hotels are ****. Please avoid the hotels near the train stations.

OOPS - thanks for the good eye, travelnut - that is indeed a typo in my post.

Kathy: It truly is hard to believe how accessible and how suitable so many areas of Paris are if you have never been, so while I think St. Germain de Pres would be fine, I don't think you should limit yourself to that area as your only consideration. Sorry not to make this easy!

Here's my take on the situation. For most tourists new to Paris, I always recommend St. Germain (and even specific streets on St. Germain) because so much can be done so quickly given the plethora of RER and Metro stops plus the variety of accommodations. However, if you are spending two weeks there, the need to get everywhere as fast as possible isn't the same.

The Marais (the 4th) would be great, and parts of it are just as close to major sites as is St. Germain. If you were lucky enough to find reasonable accommodation on the Isle de St. Louis, do it! I would also highly recommend the 7th, 14th and 15th. By visting the Paris Transportation site at http://www.ratp.info/touristes/index.php?langue=en and looking at any of the online maps, you can easily get an idea of streets in those arrondissements offering the best Metro/RER connections. Check out the bus routes, too. The 7th doesn't have the best Metro connections, but I thought its bus connections were superb.

We've had other posters here who have stayed one week in one neighborhood and one week in another so they get a real taste of Paris. You might consider that,too.

With 2 weeks, an appartment would be something to consider. The question to answer is do you want to stay "central" or in a residential, less touristy area. There are many reviews here of appartments and locations, a search will help make up your mind.

Budget...recommendations here will need some idea.

B&Bs, not really that common in Paris.

There are several train stations, so you will need to define which one. With the Metro system being so good, there is no real reason to stay near a station. They say in central Paris you are never more than 500 metres from a Metro stop.

The 6th is fine, it will be walking distance to some sights, plenty of restautants. The 7th would, broadly speaking, be a bit quieter, bit more residential. I've also stayed in the 5th, I found nice.

Depending on budget, the Ile St Louis area is a great place to consider: island, small main street with nice shops, 5 minutes to Notre Dame, views, restaurants, etc.

The Metro/Bus system is quite good. You will be using it often, since you can't really walk to all of the sites. A pass would probably be best for that amount of time.

We just returned a few weeks ago. We stayed near St Germain des Pres as well. Great area. We found our hotel through these boards and Tripadvisor.com. We wanted a small hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Boneparte. Paris is a great walking city and the metro is very easy. While in Paris we took a few side trips with CityRama. I think they are related to Greyline. They have both day trips and multi day trips. If you have time be sure to check out Galeries Lafayette. They have a nice cafeteria and there is a lookout from the top floor. The dome inside is beautiful and who can argue with shopping. Enjoy.