One night in Paris - need information
 

We have a vacation booked and planned for London at the end of March /early April 2007. We are staying for 7 nights and have just decided to take one of the nights and spend it in Paris

We are going to take the Eurostar
We are not going to give up our room in London for that one night so that we can leave everything there and just take a change of clothes

Any suggestions on hotels or the area to concentrate my hotel search in for our one night stay? We are looking for a room that will accommodate 4, 2 adults, 2 children age 12 & 10) or two connecting rooms. Our maximum budget for the one night hotel rate is 250-300 euros

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to concentrate our sightseeing for one full day and one half day in Paris? We have never been and are pretty much open to almost anything

Thanks

Thank you
I have no idea of where to even start looking for a package with the hotel and eurostar tickets. Except for my very first trip abroad, I have done everything separately because the few times I have priced tours they are usually more expensive

I don't know of any "connecting" rooms. But I stayed somewhere recently that might work. I was meeting my sister and her husband in Paris. Sis and I wanted rooms where we could go back and forth in our pj's. We settled on Hotel de Notre Dame. It's on the left bank right across the river from the cathedral. You can't beat the location: walk out the door and find the river and Isles right in front of you.

There are only 2 rooms on the top floor, reached by a short winding staircase (after elevator). There's a small landing with each room opening off it. It was quite warm, but these rooms were so private we slept with the doors ajar to get a cross current. (No one can up those stairs without the light coming on.) Both rooms overlook a little courtyard, very quiet. Nice baths.

150 euros each, not including breakfast.

http://www.hotel-paris-notredame.com/index.html

I've stayed at the Hotel de Notre Dame and agree it is a great location, steps from Notre Dame and the Seine-- the kids can enjoy climbing to the top.There are metro stations nearby if you have time to go to other districts. The Jardin des Plantes, a large park, is very close and it's not too far to the Luxembourg Gardens. You could easily spend a day exploring that area. The museum of medieval history (the Cluny) is near.

The hotel is on a small one-way street with the Ile St Louis (Berthillon ice cream and Amorino gelato) straight ahead and the Blvd. St. Germain a few steps behind. Lots of restaurants, bakeries and cafes nearby. The hotel is in the 5th on the edge of the Latin Quarter and is quiet. You may get a room with a view of the Seine and Ile St. Louis.

If you can't find connecting rooms why not have an adult/child -- adult/child since it's only one night.

http://www.hotel-paris-notredame.com

Be sure to check the location map.

I think it's possible to book train + hotel packages on the Eurostar website. But you should check their recommended hotels on tripadvisor to get some other opinions about the hotel quality.

If you're trying to avoid the hassle of packing in London, I can see why you'd keep your hotel room, but you should be able to have the hotel store your luggage for one night if you want to check out and check back in again. Alternatively, depending on your travel dates, staying in an apartment in London might work better for you. Or the Citadines chain (London and Paris) offers suite-type rooms with smal kitchens, with prices dropping for a 7 day stay or longer.

In Paris, you might check out the Citadines hotels. There are about a dozen, at varying prices. It's also worth having a look at the Best Western hotels in Paris - some of them can be quite charming, and/or high-end (but others are dingy little places). Check the tripadvisor reviews.

Are you going to take the Metro from the train station to your hotel and back again? If so, I would recommend that you pick a hotel in an area that has an easy route to Gare du Nord (no changes or maximum one change). But given that there are four of you, it might be worth splurging on a taxi on the way in or out, in which case exact location is less important - although you might want to avoid staying too far to the west, as this will make for a long journey to and from the station (by metro or cab).

Although there's a lot to fit into a 36 hour visit to Paris, I recommend the Musée Carnavalet, which shows the history of Paris. Your kids might like the models of Paris neighbourhoods, which show what it looked like in different periods.

Accommodation:

http://www.paris35.com/

Tourism:

http://www.paris.world-guides.com/

http://www.zpinaddict.com/parishtm/parismn.htm

Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc. Use the metro (flat fare of E1.40 in Paris) to get about. Ask for a map (plan) at a metro station. Buy a map of Paris. Not expensive. Take an umbrella.

Update...
Be aware that there is Hotel LE Notre Dame and a Hotel DE Notre Dame. They are in the same area. The LE hotel is located across from ND, the DE hotel is on a small one way street just off the Seine across from ND. I've stayed at LE Notre Dame, in the top floor loft. The loft has a double bed and a single (?) bed that you get to by climbing up to an alcove. Window gives nice view over Notre Dame, noise not an issue. I've seen the DE Notre Dame, and like its location. It's one place I'd like to try.

Location wise, you are an easy walk to many places that can fill the time you have.

Hope this helps,
Mike