Hi
I have booked a nice studio in Andre del Sarte, Montmarte, Paris and wondering if anyone knows this area? First time to Paris for myself. We have a budget of $200 AUD per night.
Can you please tell me if this is a dodgy area, or is it okay. Thanks.

Monmatre is ok but lower budget area of Paris.Budget hostels hotels tourists, but a bit far out from centre.Pigalle area pretty dodgy.For your budget you can do a lot better. www.ihg.com Crowne Plaza Republique for me $149 euro/nt recently awesome central location in a Huassmann building at a GREAT price. Parisbestlodge.com for apts in more central areas careful many scammers always pay with CC never wire money.

Rue André del Sartre is right alongside the park on the right side of Sacré Coeur. It is a very exclusive street.

Nearby (a few blocks away) is the major Barbès-Château Rouge immigrant area, which you will either love or hate -- but there is nothing dangerous about it.

You will be fine...listen to kerouac, he lives in Paris! Enjoy your trip.

But it is not really very "convenient" to the center of Paris where the major sites you will be visiting are. since Kerouac says it is a "nice" area, it could be fun, but you have a pretty good budget for something more central.

Its a nice area but as this is your first time to Paris you might want to try a more central location. I've stayed in Montmartre and enjoyed it but found I couldn't go back and forth to the accommodation during the day. Once I left in the morning, it was too 'far' to return during the day to drop off shopping, change clothes etc etc. The metro is fine but its time consuming to travel back and forth. I found most of my time was spent in the central areas and Montmartre was just a bit 'too far away'.

There are a couple of ways to look at it.

If you want to see a bit of local life in Paris, staying away form the centre is a good way to do it. Appartment, your local butcher, local cafe, small restos with the owner who will welcome you back,etc...

Alternatively, there is not very much to see, as a tourist, where you are located: Sacre Coeur (view), Place du Tertre (get a drawing made), the Monmartrobus (trolley around the area), the funiculaire... None are big 'must-see's. so...you will have to travel.

Type in 'Paris andre del sartre' into google maps. You will see the M symbolfor metro. Click on Chateau Rouge and Abbesses
CR is Line M4, A is Line M12. Next, go to the public transit website

http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_20558/plans/

Click on the interactive map /plan. You will see the green M12 line and the purple M4 line. Essentially you will want to go from CR or A (or any closer one) to the Seine.

On line 4, 9 stops to Notre Dame. On line 12, 8 stops to Louvre.

You are not out in the suburbs, but it means everyday you will need to take one or moe metro lines (or bus!) to get to the stuff you will probably want to see.

It isn't just the fact that you will have to take the metro/bus to get places, it is how far it is and how many changes you may need to take. I don't stay in any place in Paris where I could walk to everything I wanted to do, but it can make it inconvenient when a trip involves so much time. Especially at night, but you have to adjust for those things if you do stay up there. For example, if you just want to stay around the hotel to eat at night, that is better, if you think there are lots of places to do that. And in the daytime, it won't matter so much if you just leave in the morning and don't intend to go back to the hotel but once at night.

Montmartre is great and there is plenty to see within a few blocks between Sacre Coeur and the Opera Garnier there are tons of restaurants,shops and Cafes on the BLVDS. You will spend 30-40 minutes a day in the Metro getting to and from the other locations but Paris is the most connected city I have ever seen.

Downside: It is hard to spell however and you need to take elevators from the Metro.8

Whatever you decide you will have a blast!

Enjoy!

As a child, I had to stay with our great aunt in the (near suburbs) -- 4 stops from Gare Saint Lazare. Our family nevertheless spent all day every day in Paris and just came back for dinner. The thought of dropping off purchases, changing clothes or resting never crossed our minds. I guess many modern visitors are much more fragile if an address in Paris accessible by some easy metro rides is just too much of a burden for them. Oh no, I think I'm going to cry about such a terrible fate.

Rue Andre del Sarte is indeed a lovely little street. I walked it to Montmartre a number of times when I stayed in the nearby immigrant area in April. I didn't find it at all difficult or too time-consuming getting around from there, as there's access to metro lines 2, 4, and 12 from the two closest metro stations Chateau Rouge and Barbes-Rochechouart.
I loved the area and felt safe at all times.

Montmartre seemed like a great area to stay. Certainly you're out of the center but it's not difficult to take the metro. Unless you're naturally low on energy, why do you need to go back in the middle of the day?

I agree with kerouac's last post

Some people prefer to stay in areas where they are only a 5 or 10 minute walk from several major sights and a brief metro or cab back to the hotel. We always go back to the hotel to relax with a drink, rest and shower before going out to dinner. Wouldn't want it to be 35 or 40 minutes away.

(Granted at home I live 25/30 minutes from work but that is to be in a nice residential area rather than the business center. But - we have at least 50 decent restaurants within a 10 block area - and are 1 block from Central Park and a few minutes from several major museums,

Point taken nytraveler and everyone has their own style. I just think it's difficult to predict what another person might want. If the area is safe and the OP is comfortable there it's perfect for them.

We had a great time in Montmarte, there are so many little things to see that it was delightful. Well, just like all of Paris Heck, most of us could have a great trip to Paris even if we had to trudge in from EuroDisney everyday.

I will only say one more time that Montrmartre is difficult to get to by the excellent Metro/bus system of Paris. Why stay there for a first time if you could be more central. If it is already locked in, then case closed. You will LOVE the area and make it do.

"Difficult to get to"?

Per Michel_Paris's excellent explanation of the Metro/bus routes to the central sites. Nothing is impossible, but convenience counts for me when I am in Paris--or anywhere.

Montmartre is one of the most picturesaue neighborhoods in Paris and retains some of the atmosphere that drew Parisians in its heyday.

Paris has one of the most efficient public transportation systems in the world.

As far as safety, while it is important to be aware of your surroundings wherever you are, you are safer in Paris that in an American city of similar size.

Enjoy Paris!

If you want to stay in Montmartre because you love it or think it will be a pleasant place to stay, by all means stay there.

If you want an apartment in a more centrally located area, think about looking at accommodations closer to the center.

You can get back and forth but it is simply not as convenient as more centrally located areas.