Paris
 

I am going in January to Paris w/my 21yr. old daughter....any suggestions on places to stay..nice/safe/fairly reasonable? Also, any favorite restaurants? Thanks alot!

First of all, the most obvious information we need to know is how much is your budget per night for the hotel room?<BR><BR>Also January is nearly here and it may be difficult to secure a reservation although it is low season.

I agree that price info is needed to make a reservation. I would not have thought that it is a problem to make a reservation over 4 weeks away, for January.<BR><BR>Seems like what you need is an overview &quot;education&quot; of some hotel choices for Paris.<BR><BR>I would recommend:<BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/rants/rrpropselect.cfm?class=Hotels@20003&amp;destinatio n=paris@117<BR><BR>or<BR><BR>http://www.timeout.com/paris/accom.xml<BR><BR>And I have personally used:<BR><BR>http://www.webscapades.com/france/paris/paris2.htm<BR><BR>Last of all, although there are somewhat newer to the hotels of Paris, you might have some luck with the 487 hotels listed on http://www.venere.com/fr/paris<BR><BR>In particular, I would feel comfortable with http://www.venere.com/fr/paris/royalelysees - - though I do not considerable myself expert in picking hotels in Paris.<BR><BR>Last of all, there are three places that get good mention in http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/traveler/20010304tra-paris.html<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

You seem to be starting your planning a bit late! There are literally hundreds of hotels in Paris that are &quot;nice/safe/fairly reasonable.&quot; (Of course, all the words in that description are relative terms, and we all have different criteria for determining each!)<BR>I suggest you immediately start a crash course. Begin by researching the various arrondisements of the city to get an idea of where you might like to stay.<BR>

I recommend des Grandes Ecoles in the Latin Quarter. From the posts on this site I have read that some rooms are poor, but have never experienced this. Ask for best room -115-120E. The area is great and within walking distance of most things. There are dozens of restaurants a few steps away on Rue Moufftard. For a special I would recommend Bistro Cote de Mer on Rue Cardinal Lemoine &amp; St. Germaine-very costly in Cdn dollars, but in US I would estimate $120 for 2-also l'Epee Dupin-less expensive but must make reservations ahead. Another hotel in the area that's satisfactory is Residence Rue Monge-about $80US for room facing the back on Arena Lutece-rooms small but spotless and breakfast is great.

topping, for bebe...<BR><BR>and hearty holiday best wishes, and &quot;you're welcome&quot; to &quot;c&quot; (or &quot;n&quot;?) @ vcn.com...<BR>

I'm sure you and your daughter would enjoy going to the Bofinger brasserie for lunch (7 rue de la Bastille, 4th arrondissement, Tel 0033 1 42 72 87 82). It claims to be *the* original Paris brasserie, and serves up delicious traditional fare including classic seafood platters, steaks and choucroute. They also have a good value 3-course lunch menu which is around 30 euros including wine. And their desserts are absolutely fantastic. But aside from the food, the d&eacute;cor is what really makes this place something special. If neither of you are smokers you can sit in the main dining area under the beautiful decorated glass dome - but make sure you book in advance! (The Guardian newspaper printed a review recently -http://www.observer.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,645846,00.html)<BR>If you are in Paris on a Sunday, you could book a table for lunch at Bofinger, and beforehand, take a stroll round the wonderful market on the boulevard Richard Lenoir nearby. After lunch you could wander to the Place des Vosges and listen to the classical musicians busking under the arcades... My perfect Parisian Sunday *sigh*

Last month we were in Paris and we stayed on the 7th arr. literally, around the block from the Eiffel tower. <BR>We stayed at the Derby Alma hotel. It is a four star hotel. wwww.derbyalmahotel.com<BR>we got a great deal through HSN for half the price of the regular price.<BR>The hotel is very nice and clean, the staff very friendly and attentive. All of the staff speak English<BR>Good luck!

I think the 4* rating for the Derby Alma Hotel was given by HSN. It is not a 4* hotel. It's described as being either a 2* or a 3* hotel as well depending on what internet site you check.

The Derby Alma is a four star hotel according to the Paris Tourist Office, and their site has the official listings. (I didn't see any web site that listed it as a 2-star hotel, or 3-star, although you may find headings with stars in them when you do a google search on that name, but those aren't hotel ratings, just page decoration on the ones I've seen). <BR><BR>That hotel is fairly new so I think has always been a 4-star hotel. There did used to be a 2-star hotel there before BW took over and refurbished the property (that had a diff. name, Hotel Rapp).

up up up<BR>

Try Laterooms.com ... its a service like its name. What hotels have rooms available on short notice.. .pretty much anywhere in the world. Sure seems to add a lot of spontenaity when e-savers come up! &lt;GRIN&gt;