My best friend and I, late 20's, M/F are deciding on the best area for a 3 night/4 day adventure in Paris - we like to go out and enjoy the night life (St. Germain I've read is good for this) but also don't want a crappy/unsafe place. We are budgeting no more than 150.00/night. We also would like to be close to bakeries, shops, etc, and great resturants. Any recomendations on a hotel would be very helpful - we've are becoming quite overwhelmed w/ the magnitude of choices. We will be arriving May 22nd. Thanks!

We were in Paris in March, and stayed in the Marais arondissment. (4th) We stayed in a lovely little hotel called the Andrea Rivoli. Two blocks form the Hotel DeVille, and a block in either direction from a metro stop. Everything was in easy reach, and the Latin Quarter has some great restaurants and clubs to hang out in. Hope this helps...

May 22nd isn't too far away. Try ratestogo as you are now in the "last minute" category. Your budget isn't a lot for the 1-8 arr which I would think would work. Given your ages, I would suggest 3,4,5 and 6. The Bastille near the 4th would work well too. For a first visit (and your age), I would suggest 5 and 6. Cross reference your hotels on trip advisor. Have a great time and let us know how you made out with hotels.

We had a very nice stay at Hotel Langlois.

What kind of money are you talking about (150 per night), and what kind of room do you want. If that is euro, it's a lot different amount that USD$150. YOu don't say what kind of room and bedding arrangement you need, either.

I think St Germain, Latin Quarter, Marais and Bastille area would all work and be enjoyable. St Germain is more expensive than many other areas, so I don't know what you can get for that rate there (if that is US$150, especially). The Marais doesn't have as many hotels, but it does have quite a few 2* ones, I think, so that might be possible there.

Try Hotel de Suez or HOtel Cujas Pantheon in the Latin Qtr. I think they would be good locations for you, and they are in your budget (Latin Qtr is usually cheaper than St Germain). They may have other websites, but both are on here www.france-hotel-guide.com, which is a good Paris hotel website

http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005suez.htm

http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005cujas.htm

We have stayed at the Hotel du Trois Colleges and The Hotel Excelsior both of which are in the 5th and are in between 2 metro stops. Both are value hotels as we spend more money on eating than on a place we won't be spending much time in.

I agree with travelbunny -- look into last minute deals. If a hotel has an available room, they will often book it at a lower rate to fill it, rather than leave it vacant. You may do very well that way.

Good luck and have a great time.