Laundromats in Paris
 

We will be in Paris for ten days so we will need to find some place to get clean clothes. Are there any laundromats in the 8th?. Our hotel is very near the Gare St.Lazare.

Sure, they're all over, but do you really want to spend a morning or afternoon of your precious time in a laundromat?

I take a small bottle of liquid laundry detergent (it rinses out better) and clothes that will drip dry overnight (you can always roll up heavier items in the bath towels) and a couple of plastic hangers.

Hi ed,
Many laundromats will do your wash for you. Expect about $1/lb.

Ask at your hotel.

FYI-on rue de Buci on Left Bank off Blvd St Germain. close by a Poster Shop. Excellent one day dry cleaner.

A compromise is to wash/rinse in the shower or bathtub, then carry to a 'laverie' to use the dryers.
Don't be surprised to see a central coin repository where you push a number correlating to the dryer unit you are going to use (rather than coin slots at each machine).

If you are going to use only the dryers at the laundromat, be sure to pick an unpopular time or you will be VERY unpopular with the other customers or may even be kicked out (I have seen this happen several times). The problem is that most laundromats in Europe have far more washers than dryers and there are usually signs posted that priority use of the dryers is given to those who are also using the washers.
Also note that use of the washers/dryers may also be computerized--if the sign says the last time to load the machines is at 8 pm, you will be SOL if you try to put in a load at 8:02 pm.
Generally, it will cost about three to four euros to wash a medium sized load and about 1.5 to 2 euros to dry it. Bring along change as you will probably have to buy "jetons" (tokens) to use in the machines and many jeton dispensers don't give change.
I agree with ira that the simplest, most time-effective solution is to drop off your laundry in the morning at an attended laundromat with washing services and then pick it up at the end of the day.

Many dry cleaners are combined with laundries where they'll do your wash for a reasonable fee. I think the best idea would be to just look around where you are staying and you might see one, or ask someone at your hotel. If you want to search yourself, just look them up in the yellow pages
www.pagesjaunes.fr

There is another way to look at the question of doing laundry in Paris. My husband, who you would not find doing laundry here at home likes to do his laundry once in Paris to experience "day to day living" like the French do. He has some really funny "laundromat" stories to tell also! To each their own!

I consider vacation time in laundromats to be time very well spent. You get to experience local color, meet other tourists, and quite often get tips on local attractions that you won't find in any guidebook. You can pack very simply without having to live with damp underwear hanging all over your hotel room.

I dropped-off my laundry once in Germany - when I came back, it was washed and dried, but stuffed into a bag. I'm stilling trying to get rid of those wrinkles.

Do what others on here suggest - buy cheap Wal-Mart undies and socks, then toss them when they start to reek.

Our laudromat experience in Paris was fun. It started off frustratingly, when we couldn't understand the French instructions. Hell, we couldn't even figure out how to buy soap from the machine! It remained extremely frustrating until two very helpful male French students (we were near the Sorbonne) came to our rescue. Even though they spoke little English and we spoke little French, they were able to show us how to work the washer, soap dispensing machine and, later, the dryer....and we all had a good laugh. It was one of many examples of how helpful the Parisians were!
PS: We spent very little waiting time within the laudromat. After loading the washer, we went to a nearby bistro for lunch. Later, we shopped in the neighborhood while the clothes dried. As a previous poster said, it was a good opportunity to live like a local for a few hours!

Last time I was in Paris, in the 7th e. I went to a laundromat. As laundromats go, it was exceptional with new machines and clean but that aside, it was just a nice way to observe the comings and goings of the neighbourhood and to meet other tourists and speak some english. I didn't think it was a waste of my time at all.

One of my highlights of a trip to Paris in '98 was actually at a laundromat in St. Germain. For the life of us, my wife and I could not fiugure out how to get the detergent at this place. Fortunately, there was a very nice French woman who showed us that you put the money in one place and the detergent came out in another across the room. It really was a two person operation to get the detergent. The French woman left and then another couple entered. At a loss to figure ou, the detergent question, we helped them out. We spent a couple of hours doing our clothes. As each new person entered, perplexed by the detergent dilemma, the previous person helped them solve the detergent question. Between Americans, the French woman, an Italian couple and some kids from Germany, we were able not to solve the problems of the world, but when it came to detergent, the world was in perfect harmony. Pretty neat memory.

Hey, maitaitom, I like your laudromat experience better than mine. Our detergent came out of the same spot. Drat!

The whole laundromat thing brought back great college memories of nights philosophizing with buddies at the laundromat over a couple of quarts of cheap beer. We never solved anything, but a lot of us are still good friends years later. I think living like a local for a few hours while on vacation is a good life experience.

Here's a tip for doing laundry in Europe. Instead of trying to figure out how to use those soap dispensers, stop in at a grocery store and buy laundry soap there. It's much less expensive.

My husband likes to do the laundry in Europe, too, aj. He likes to relax and observe the neighborhood while I go shopping. Suits me fine!

Count me in as another traveller who thinks a few hours spent in a laundomat on vacation can be highly entertaining, even enjoyable.

Liz
who's done laundry in Paris, Brugge, Vienna, Yosemite, Seattle, Acadia, San Francisco....

"Instead of trying to figure out how to use those soap dispensers, stop in at a grocery store and buy laundry soap."

And miss out on fun stories. Never.

Why Tom, methinks your tongue may be planted firmly in your cheek.