Montmatre Locale...
 

I'll be in Paris this summer and am looking for a cheap place to stay. I found one in Montmatre and was wondering what the general opinion is of the area? Is it a good location to see the sights (I'll be either walking or taking the subway...)?<BR><BR>Any information would be helpful, thank you in advance!

Hi Julie,<BR>I don't know what your budget is or how long you will be in Paris. But the Montmarte area is not very central and you will have to ride the metro quite a ways to get to the center of town. I would recommend staying in either the 5th, 6th or 7th Arrondisments instead.<BR>Bon chance.

I strongly agree with Bill. Montmatre is a great area to visit, but it's kind of out of the way as a base for your stay.

That is an old and interesting neighborhood, but there are some fairly dicey parts of it, too. A few blocks can make a big difference in the ambiance and comfort factor. Be sure you understand your immediate surroundings.

If you want to stay out of the central area for the purposes of affordability, but still have easy access to major sites via metro, you might find some of my Paris travel notes helpful:<BR><BR>http://www.igougo.com/planning/journal.asp?JournalID=3126<BR><BR>Note that Campanile (part of the very large Accor Group) and Timhotel (with 15 Paris locations) offer a number of reasonably priced options/locations to check out. Happy Contrails!

If it's cheap, it's probably in the northern part of the 18eme, n'est-ce pas? I've stayed there, and it's perfectly safe, just not real pretty - but lots of streetlife, openair markets, good boulangeries, bistros, etc. - and it is very far away from the center (metro stops aren't as close together as other parts of the city, so you may have a long walk to a stop). If this is your first trip to Paris, try to find something in the single-digit arrondissements - or dormitory accommodations (not necessarily more centrally located, but the neighborhood will be more interesting).

Very good additional information from Elvira and Jim. The Pigalle area is very seedy and even as a man I would not like walking around that area at night. But as Elvira says, there are some residential areas that are OK, but just a long way from the main sites in Paris.

We stayed at a small B&B-type hotel called L'Ermitage on Lamarck Street that was quite nice and not too expensive in the mid-90's. It was just a few blocks from the church, but we did have to walk several blocks to the metro.