Hello to you all, We are traveling to Paris the middle of November and trying to make a reservation.

Would you please help me to make a decision between "Novotel Les Halles" and "Novotel Gare de Lyon".

The Novotel Les Halles is located at:
8 Place Marguerite de Navarre
Metro- Chatelet
Close to- Seine, Pompidou Ctr., Louvre, ND


Novotel Gare de Lyon
2 Rue Hector Malot
Metro or Railway Station- Gare de Lyon
Close to Bastille

Thank you for any information you may be able to pass along.

This would be a tough choice for me. I've been to Paris several times.

I would be torn between the more central location of Les Halles vs the slightly further Gare de Lyon location.

Les Halles is very, very busy. Lots of people, tourists and locals. Some people don't like for example the skateboarders around the Fontaine Innocents. I like to watch the skateboarders. You're very close to the Centre Pompidou too.

Yet you've noticed even in your post there aren't that many tourist things around Gare de Lyon. It's certainly busy but a little more "local." Not many toursists wander that way unless they're catching a TGV south. By the way Le Train Bleu restaurant in the Gare de Lyon is gorgeous. There's also the old rail bridge that was converted to a park above with shops below.

Been to Paris a few times? You might like to try the Gare de Lyon location. Never been to Paris? It's hard to beat the overall vibe of the Les Halles location in comparison to Gare de Lyon.

One drawback of the Les Halles location is the inconvenience of using the Chatelet station, which is a huge labyrinth. However it is much more centrally located and there are lots of bus lines. I think it is a much better choice.

I stayed in Novotel Les Halles about 3 years ago. It it a modern hotel, with a good breakfast and a very central location. I felt ok staying there.

I do anything possible to avoid using the Chatelet station. Gare de Lyon is a little "away" from things. Any particular reason for these choices?

There are many great areas in Paris to stay in. Neither of those two locations would be on my list.

Stu Dudley

I wouldn't choose either one. I would definitely stay elsewhere unless you are forced to stay at those two choices. Then, I guess it's a tossup. The area around Gare de Lyon isn't that thrilling, either, and there are a lot of people and traffic right nearby because it's a major TGV point. So all the cafes out in front are full of travelers, often with suitcases, and things like that. I don't like the Les Halles area, either, but think I'd probably pick it.

Thank you all for your responses to my question on Novotel hotels in Paris...

The reason we chose Novotel hotel chain is the rates... we can get a room at either hotel for 68 euro per night for 4 people (2 adult and 2 kids). Most of the other hotels charge for the kids to stay or did not have family rooms available.

It sounds like the Les Halles is the more central location.

Bt the way, this is our first trip to Paris...

Thanks again for your help.

I stayed at the Novotel Les Halles some years ago and it was good, with confortable rooms and a good breakfast. There are several small shops and restaurants nearby. If you get that cheap rate, go for it. The location isn't ST. German but it's pretty central. Enjoy Paris!

Hi FM,

You can look up the location of your hotel, and take a walk around the neighborhood, at www.pagesjaune.fr

Another advantage of the Les Halles location is that you are close to the shopping street of Rue Montorgueil.

Here is a map of the Châtelet neighborhood:

<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?fm=pdf&amp;nompdf=chatelet&amp;loc=quar tiers</b>

Three train and five M&eacute;tro lines meet here, and a dozen bus lines cross, too. You can get to almost anywhere without changing lines.

But you can get to Ch&acirc;telet from Gare de Lyon in <b>three minutes</b> on M&eacute;tro Ligne 14, so either hotel is as good as the other in terms of getting to sights.

This may not be important to you, but I have noticed that the Novotel Gare de Lyon has an inside swimming pool, which is rare for Paris.

Having just returned from a stay in the 11th, I can tell you that I will do ANYTHING to avoid Chatalet in the future. I kept thinking that, if I walked in a straight line, I could have more quickly walked home each day than walking through the maze of tunnels to make connections. The ONLY part of our trip I disliked!

Then why didn't you walk home? I'm not getting something.

I think I'm in the minority here, but I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid the Chatelet stop. Sure it's big and it's busy but it is not intimidating - even as a first time visitor I navigated easily.