2 grad students needing places to stay. Prefer a central location. If you have stayed at a hotel, hostel, B&B, etc. and have a recommendation, we would love to hear it. Many thanks

Munich July 8
Venice 11, 12
Rome 13, 14 ,15, 16, 17
Florence 18, 19, 20
Cinque de Terre 21, 22
Barcelona 23, 24, 25, 26
Paris 27, 28, 29, 30, 31


Christine

Anywhere you are staying four days or more, look for an apartment. Some of them rent for fewer days than a week, especially in Rome or Florence, and I would guess Paris and Barcelona dhas such places, too.

Look on VRBO.com, sleepinitaly.com, airbnb.com for starters. I am not familiar with sites specific to France or Spain.

Ibis hotels are usually a good bet. They are budget hotels, but very clean and safe. I've stayed in the central one in Munich and the ibis website offers great deals for booking 20 days in advance etc. There are lots of them dotted around Paris, lovely ones in Montmartre for example.

Thanks so much for the quick replies. I will proceed with contacting your suggested places. Anyone else have recommendation for places that they have stayed.

Merci,

Christing

Go to www,hostels.com. they also have b&bs & appartments. & you only have to give 10% . We have had some great room only & B&Bs.

I usually book a lot further ahead of time than that - some of the best inexpensive places may be booked. I just looked at the last place I stayed in Venice and it's booked entirely for this July. But try venere.com - they have some good lower priced hotels and are an easy site to work with. When you find something that looks good check reviews on tripadvisor.com The hostels site mentioned above is good too. I have also stayed in plenty of Ibis hotels and would again but in large cities they tend to not be very central locations.

Places I've stayed (and would return)

Paris - http://www.hotel-marignan.com/html/p1_a.htm
Florence - http://www.florence.ala.it/desiree/
Rome - http://www.hoteljulia.it/
Barcelona - http://www.venere.com/hotels/barcelo...s/#information
Barcelona - http://www.hotelcontinental.com/web/

If you can't find anyplace good in the Cinque Terre towns look in Camogli, it's not a bad train ride and there were a lot more hotels to choose from, some lower priced.

Sometimes apartments can be a good deal but I usually don't bother if for less than a week - the hassle of paying the deposit, meeting someone for a key, not having a person to ask questions of, etc - not worth it for short stays (to me anyway), and they usually are more expensive than the cheaper hotels and B&Bs.

We stayed here, in Manarola, one of the five villages that make up the Cinque Terre -
http://www.casacapellini-5terre.it/

Room was basic but had a balcony with wonderful view of the sea and town. No breakfast supplied but there is a small supermarket in town you can buy supplies or visit one of the bars for coffee and a pastry. We had to pay cash on arrival, they didn't take cards, though this was a few years ago now.

We've stayed at these hotels in Paris, on the budget side but not as cheap as a hostel. Both in good locations.

http://www.le-sevigne.com/ (note the photo on the homepage is not the hotel, it's the nearby Hotel de Ville - the Town Hall.)

http://www.hoteldenice.com/ Hotel de Nice, in the Marais district.

This place in Rome was OK, nothing fancy, but we loved the location, right near the Campo de Fiori and across the narrow street is a little bakery where we bought breakfast.
http://www.smeraldoroma.com/inglese/hotel.htm

Kay

In Barcelona I've been perfectly happy staying at basic and good value Hostal Orleans. Excellent location, close to everything. Ten mins walk to the Barceloneta beach and in the vibrant El Born area:
http://www.hostalorleans.com/
El Born area: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...s/el-born.html

In the high season it would be some 65€ for a double. You should book soon to get a room for your dates.

In Florence, try Old Bridge B&B http://florenceoldbridge.com/
It is right by the Ponte Vecchio, has a good breakfast, and is charming. The rates start at 74 euro. We stayed at the sister hotel Hotel la Scarletta (hotel of stairs).

We stayed at B&B Flavius in Rome and enjoyed it for a budget place. Was south of the Coliseum.

We also stayed in an Ibis in Munich. While not central it was next door to a metro stop and was very convient. Can't remember the name but it was north of the city central and west of Englisher Garten. We found Munich to be more expensive for lodging than expected.

Both were under 90 euro in June.

Regencia Colon was great in Barcelona. Lots more on Trip Advisor.

Look at http://www.homelidays.co.uk/ for places to rent in each city for 3 or more days. Can be cheaper than a hotel and allows you to prepare food, which can save a bundle.

Also, in Florence, we booked Hotel Montreal, which was a great deal. We used Venere or other type of booking agent and they were cheaper than going to the hotel direct.

For Paris, as suggested above, look at Ibis and Etap hotels. I have stayed at the Etap on Rue Dr. Babinski, and it is a 10 min. walk to the bus and 15 to the Metro. The Saint Ouen flea market is a 2 min. walk. For cheaper, there is a Hotelformule1 next door, but it is bath and toilet down the hall. Etap in en-suite.

For Rome,if you are female, try foresteria Orsa Maggiore.
http://www.casainternazionaledelledo...esteria_uk.htm

For Venice:
http://www.santafosca.com/statiche/ostello/servizi.asp
http://foresteriavenezia.it/

Barcelona:
http://www.hostalgirona.com/
http://www.operaramblas.com/

Thank you all for the suggestions. I so appreciate it. One thing I forgot to ask, I am not to sure what area of each city to select to stay in, as some of the searches are by parts of towns, districts, or neighborhoods. We want to be somewhere fairly accessible to transportation to see the sights, mainly interested in the historical sights as neither of us have traveled in Europe before. I would be interested to hear your recommendations. Thankfully, we have friends to stay with in Florence, London, and Munich, though, still need 1 night is Munich that she cannot accommodate us.Along with needing Venice, Rome, Cinque de Terre, Barcelona and Paris. We have all flights and all trains with seat reservations, just need places to sleep. This is an unexpected trip so we are preparing as fast as we can, hoping to enjoy a holiday before continuing on in graduate school.

Happy Traveling,
Christine

I bid on Priceline for a Munich hotel. Won a Marriot in the northern part of the city. It was close to transportation and comfy.

Christine, what is your budget??

CaliNurse,

We were hoping by being careful to stay for two persons from $50-$100US per night. Not sure if that is achievable but have fewer night in Venice 2, Cinque de Terre 2, and Munich 1, and Rome 5, Barcelona 4, and Paris 5. Thought we might skimp on the shorter nights and where we stay longer spend a little more, thinking if we don't like the place, it's only 2 nights.

Thanks, Christine

I haven't stayed in real inexpensive hotels in Paris (meaning less than US$100) in ages, so can't recommend any for that reason, as you asked. I've posted numerous recommendations on here for the same question (for Paris) before, if you want to search for them, I always seem to repeat the same things as there aren't really that many at that rate, which is really low (for a hotel, anyway, about normal for a hostel in Paris). Your idea of $50/night for two isn't doable in Paris even in a hostel. Are you aware that is only about 35 euro for two people, or 17 euro each. I think even hostel rates in a group dorm room are more than that. Even at double that rate, you are talking only 70 euro for a double room. There are a few hotels in that bracket.

Good news is end of July is low season in Paris hotels, and some have discounts, so it is more do-able than most any other time of year. Some don't have discounts until August, but a lot do after Bastille Day.

This is one of the cheapest I know in Central Paris (hotel): http://www.commerceparishotel.com/ It has twins with shower for 74 euro.

another possibility around 78 euro for a twin http://www.hotelportroyal.fr/

Some hostels are even more than that, at least for a private room. Some charge around 25-35 euro per person in a group room.

Christina, I am learning to convert the $/euros, and I think we should aim more for 35-50euros a piece, totaling 70-100euros total. I will check out your two suggestions right away. Our thinking was if the hostel is the same price we might find a B&B, small hotel, instead.
Thanks

Christina- In Paris, try Hotel Central in Montparnasse. It is near 2 or 3 metro stops, small, basic and clean. The link indicates a good internet special 75-100 euros.
http://central-hotel-paris.com/English/Frameset.html
Sounds like a GREAT trip, you won't regret.