Paris 15th.
 

Hi to all!
We( a group of 9 adults, 4 couples plus the sister of one of the ladies), will be in Paris in september(also London,Annecy,Avignon,Nice and Madrid).It was very difficult finding a hotel for all nine persons.Finally we ended booking a hotel in Paris 15 th; rue du Theatre, near the Seine..
Please, can any of you locals or experts comment on:
Is this a good zone? safe?
Restaurants in the neighborhood?
Shopping streets?( understand that rue du commerce is good).
Good supermarkets.
Any tips will be appreciated.Thanks to you all!!!

A french friend of mine used to have a "chambre de bonne" <i>sous les toits de Paris</i> in the Belleville area of Paris. When he could no long climb stairs, the mother-in-law of his daughter found him an apartment with elevator access in the 15ème. He said that at the beginning he felt uneasy in that area of town because there was no street life at night compared to blue-collar Belleville. The 15ème is considered bourgeois and very safe.

You will be close to the rue Saint-Charles and within a block of that intersection there is a boulangerie/patisserie owned by <i>un meilleur ouvrier de France</i>. The rue Saint-Charles also has a street market at least one day a week.

There is a lovely little park, square Bela Bartok, just up the block.

Generally it is safe, that's a very normal middle class residential area for the most part. At least the 15th is, in general, it's kind of a different vibe in big hotels near the Seine. I don't know which hotel that is, the main one I know of was a Novotel then Nikko, not sure what it is now but it's not at rue du Theatre, it was near or on rue Linois.

The only issue is that is kind of a weird location, I would never pick it, as it isn't very convenient to metro if it really is on the quai de Grenelle at rue du Theatre. I suppose the closest stop is Bir Hakeim and I don't think that's the greatest place to hang out.

If you are in a hotel, you shouldn't need a supermarket that much, but there is a big Monoprix a block or so west of place Charles Michels on rue Linois. Rue St Charles itself is a shopping street, rue du Commerce is kind of far away from that location and I can't think of anything special on it that I would make a there for shopping. There are plenty of parts of Paris that you could get to just as easily as that location (such as St Germain or the 7th arr), just because it is in the same arrondisement number doesn't mean much. Rue de la Convention has lots of stores, also, on most parts of it.

If that is the Adagio aparthotel at least it isn't at the Seine, so that's a good thing. I wonder if you really mean you are several blocks away from the Seine, around rue St Charles, which would be much better. Then you are closer to Dupleix or Charles Michels metro stops.

Go to the pages jaunes and enter the address and "walk around" the neighborhood. You can probably do it on google also.

Rue du Théâtre is an upper middle class area, so it has all shops and services required by the locals. It's true that it is a strangely inconvenient street for the metro, but the 42 bus runs through the area.

Thanks you all!!
Michael: Are you talking about Le quartier du Pain?; I have also seen some good opinions about Creperie Contemporaine and Il Cantoncino.Thanks and let me know of any other tip.

Christina: Yes the Adagio tour Eiffel; not really on the Seine; on Rue du Theatre; being an aparthotel that is the reason why we need a supermarket, boulangerie etc.Anything bad at Bir Hakeim?

Gretchen: thanks!; will follow your advice.

I do not remember the name. All I know is that it is on the west side of the street before Place Charles-Michel.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57623299527007

Kerouac: great tip!!!! I have a "cut and paste" in my Paris file that reads:"bus stop only a block away line 42 really easy stops at Champ de Mars, Eiffel Tour, Grand Palais, Concordia, Madelein and Opera"; are we talking about "this" 42? This would be great....thanlks also for all your beautiful reports; I am a great fan.

Michael: this square looks great!!! Thanks

Oh, the 42 bus is a GREAT line! It will take you to the Eiffel Tower, and past the Gare du Nord, if you need it!!
Aha, I see you already know that!! It is actually an excellent sightseeing bus route!!

Thanks Gretchen!!; i already have the quote about the 42 bus; good to hear that this is really a good option.

Strange you should ask this question, just as I was finishing up my report on my "finds" in the 15th A! Because after we visited La Ruche, instead of heading back to the Metro at Porte de Versailles, we walked down the street towards the Convention metro station and came across a very cool outdoor market going all up and down rue de la Convention. The shops that lined the streets -- from the boucheries to the boulangeries -- were open and had great take-away food! All the shop and market people we encountered there were also very nice. My husband got a cheap wallet and fresh roasted nuts, I got a cheap scarf that is really quite beautiful, and some outstanding celeri remoulade and carrots in a vineagrette sauce. Anyway, really good street to walk!

I consider the 42 to be the best bus line that also doubles as a cheap sightseeing tour.

The best supermarket by far (but of course not the cheapest) is the Monoprix Beaugrenelle on rue Linois. It's fun to go there in the morning, because it is full of flight crews in uniform snatching up all of their 'request' items before being transported to the airport (the Novotel ex-Nikko is one of the major airline crew accommodation hotels in the city).

Thanks Surfergirl!! Great tips ; and of course I went to your profile and read your report about La Ruche and T 3 tram ; interesting for us!
Cheap wallet; celery remoulade, cheap scarf and roasted nuts are things interesting to almost anyone in our group.Did you remember what day of the week you see the market in rue de la Convention?

Thanks Kerouc! No doubts we will be using "the 42"; tickets are the same for metro and buses right?

I think the market is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays -- Sundays would be the busiest, but Tues and Thurs you get the added bonus of all the businesses (shops that line the street) being opened as well. We were there on a Thursday.

Usually open markets are devoted to one primary thing -- like books or food or clothing, but this street market seems to have everything, even souvenirs that are exactly the same thing you'd find in a souvenir shop but much cheaper! BTW there's also a great cheese stand with a really nice lady running it. Must be popular, because there's a line of locals buying cheese from the stand!

Tickets are the same for metro, bus, tram and RER (RER inside the city limits only).

the 15th is always my first or second (I like the 11th) when looking for a vacation apartment. I like coming home to a neighborhood each day. Also, from many vantage points you'll see the Eiffel Tower!

There's a restaurant on Charles Michel called Le Champetre that we really like. They have a good prix fixe menu at 36e that includes a 1/2 bottle of wine per person. Owned by a nice Egyptian family and really good food.

There were two others that we liked a lot, but when there last month we saw that both have been replaced by others. These were small, neighborhood bistros and I find it so sad that so many are changing hands lately.

The Adagio has good reviews on trip adviser, they say it's a good location for sight seeing and transportation.

I am sorry to say that a 36€ prix fixe is already beyond my restaurant budget.

I like the Bistro Champetre a lot, also, but it isn't 36 euro any more. We talked about that on a recent thread, I think it is 42 euro (at least 39). I don't know places up north that far very well, I go in restaurants generally if it looks decent and I like the menu and the price, I don't compile lists much. I eat at the cafe near the Charles Michels metro stop sometimes, but it's nothing special. That isn't exactly a foodie location.

I know there is a Franprix that you go by when you are coming back on that bus line down rue Lourmel as sometimes I would stop off there on my way home (I rented an apt one summer a bit south of place Charles Michels on rue Lacordaire). I think it's on rue des Entrepreneurs, but the MOnoprix is better.

There is a Mephisto store down at the corner of Convention and Lacordaire or so (no. 99) and a branch of that fancy ice cream/sweet shop, also around there (Dalloyau). It does have good stuff http://www.dalloyau.fr/maison-dalloyau/boutiques