Is it OK to stay near Gare De L'Est?
 

Hi

My wife and I are going to Paris during Easter and we are looking for a hotel. I have found a hotel that has gotten decent reviews and it is located near Gare De L'Est. Is this an OK area to stay in? The train station areas in larger cities can be a bid dodgy but we haven't really experience problems in places like Rome, Venice etc. So is Gare De L'Est an OK area to stay in? We will use the metro to get around and it looks like the train station is also a metro hot spot so it will be easy to get around.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

There is nothing wrong with the train station areas in Paris, but it is quite true that there is a certain sleaze factor inherent in train stations : pickpockets looking for people struggling with baggage, panhandlers in high traffic areas, runaways with dazed eyes, greasy sandwich stands with the kind of people who live off that food, refugees wondering where to go next, a few sex shops for frustrated commuters, etc. If you found the Termini area in Rome suitable, you will have absolutely no trouble with the Gare de l'Est area. It is extremely convenient for metros and buses, has every category of hotel and plenty of reasonable restaurants, and is a much more interesting neighborhood than the Disneyesque tourist areas like the Marais or the 7th arrondissement.
One of the best restaurants in the area is the Terminus Nord across from the Gare du Nord, but if you walk up the Faubourg Saint Denis all the way to metro La Chapelle, you will pass through the heart of the Indian neighborhood with its saris and spices, and many people find this to be a totally fascinating and unexpected side of Paris. It is also interesting to note that while most of the Indians have French citizenship (often through the former French territory of Pondicherry), quite a few of them speak better English than French.

You'll be fine there and hopefully you won't run into too many people who engage in sterotypes and generalizations about people and neighborhoods as you did here.

Is there any way to talk about a neighborhood without generalizing?

Where is it exactly ? If South of the Gare it is OK for sure. If it is behind it it might be so so.

I heartily second the recommendation for the restaurant Terminus Nord. Excellent food and nice prices.

I have to say that I thought kerouac's description of the Gard de l'Est train station area could have been lifted wholesale to describe the area between Pennsylvania Station and the Port Authority bus terminal in New York City. I know Gard lives in Norway, so that comparison may not mean anything to him, but he can rest assured that this area of Paris is manageable for the experienced urban tourist.

Actually, I think the only Parisian neighborhoods kerouac may have dissed are the Marais and the 7th, but describing them as Disneyesque is a useful take for those who pay higher prices to get into these areas when they might prefer being somewhere that is less geared toward tourists and more of an experience of the non-tourist realities of today's Parisian life.

By the way, Gard, this location is convenient for a day trip to Giverny if that interests you -- although be prepared for aspects of that being very touristy, and I don't know what kinds of flowers are blooming so early in the season, certainly not the water lilies.

But there are other places in that direction that might appeal in springtime if you have the time and the inclination.

kerouac gave you a very accurate rundown. Let the sterotypes and generalizations inform you and take delight in finding exceptions to the rule.

Hello, we have stayed at the Little Regina right across the road from the Gare De L'Est and found it charming, affordable and convenient. The metro station is right there, we would take the bus to see the sights and cab it back in the evening.

Our room was reserved for us by a cousin who is lives outside of Paris, a police officer who knows the city very well. It was our first time in Paris as adults on our own and we were unsure of what area to choose, he was quite comfortable recommending this Hotel and neighbourhood.

We have stayed in many cities/towns quite close to their train stations, Lugano, Garmisch and Basel, but we felt more secure asking for his advice considering this was, after all, Paris, not a small city.

Hi

We are two couples that are going to Paris so we are discussing lots of ideas at the moment. We have been looking at Little Regina hotel but some are afraid that there is too much traffic noise in the area.

But now another suggestion has come up: Timhotel Tour Eiffel located near the Eiffel tower. It would be great to have a view to the Eiffel tower...I thought that only happened in movies :S-

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Just took a look at the address of the Timhôtel. Do not plan on seeing the Eiffel Tower from your window.

Hi

Thanks for the feedback. Does this mean that the first review on http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...de_France.html is bogus? It is even stated which room number they had.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Gard,

You have asked this hotel location question on at least three travel forums. Is it that much of a big deal? I have answered you among many others on Gare de l'est, which should give you ample stuff to make up your mind.

Beware of Eiffel Tower obsessions : an hotel with "Eiffel" in its name is more marketing than indication of real proximity to the Tower, let alone the guarantee of the "Romantic Eiffel Tower view from our room". Besides, there are lots of uninteresting neighbourhoods around the tower, especially in the part of the city west of the ET.

Hi

Yes, I have posted this on several forums...different people tend to hang out on different forums and I'm just trying to get as much feedback as possible :-) If it is a big deal or not....well, when there are more than one person travelling there is always more than one opinion :-) One would like to stay near the Eiffel tower, one would like to avoid noisy areas etc etc. So it is a bit of a puzzle getting a desicion when each one of the travellers have a different opinion. But I'm sure we will come to a conclusion in the end :-) If it a big deal or not...well, we are staying there a week so we don't really want to pay that much...but on the other side we don't really want to stay in a dump either.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Uh-oh, a group with divergent desires and criteria is in trouble. Plan some time apart from each other.

We have stayed near the Gare de l'Est and the Gare du Nord--once for an early train to Luxembourg and the other with a tour group. I would not choose to stay there, particularly for a week. It is not a particularly central location and there is little to do in the area. I don't know how much the rooms are but unless they are REALLY rEALLY cheap, you can probably get the same accomodations in the more central arrondisements. We do go to one of the restaurants across from the Gare du Nord to eat mussels on every trip. And when staying at the Hotel du NOrd (has been renamed a couple of times by now) we ate at the Terminus du Nord. Very nice.

In reference to the noise level at the Little Regina, I have to say one of my distinct memories is the fact that when we closed the windows and shutters at night, we were pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was. Around 9:00 p.m. the traffic slows and the people find there way to dinner or into their homes.

But if you are looking to be in visual or walking distance of the Tower, this is not the area for you, it is about a 10 minutes bus ride, a pleasant walk by the Trocadero Gardens and then cross over the bridge to the Tower.

Hi

Thank you very much to all for the feedback. As I said we are several people and it is always a bit of a challenge to come to an agreement :S-

We ended up at Timhotel Tour Eiffel. I will come back with a review of the hotel when we return from Paris in late April :-)

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures
http://www.timhotel.com/hotels/us/eiffel.html