Hello,
We'll be in Paris in late October and I'm wondering about three things. Would it be practical to arrive without booking rooms and finding a convenient place to stay after arriving because we don't know the city well and would rather not make a reservation for rooms in a wrong or inconvenient place. Also is the Montmarte area close to the sights in Paris? The rooms and ones offered via packages there seem to be most reasonable and more numerous. We will be looking to stay for $80.00 or so per night per room (2 rooms). Also, is it doable to go from Paris to the Normandy beaches on a day trip as we'l only be in paris for four days. Thanks for any help and/or advice
Kevin

In Montmarte there are plenty of metro stations. Paris is a very easy city to get around. We have stayed out of the way a couple of times for a lower price and everything is still easily accessable.

No, kevin, it would be highly impracticalto arrive without reservations. For one thing, October is conference season in Paris and you'll be lucky to get a room even if you start phoning today.

Second, by reading guidebooks, looking at maps, and posing a question on this forum, you can easily find out which are the "wrong or inconvenient" places. Besides, how would you find that out when you got there? Ride around on local buses with your luggage until you saw a neighbrhood that looked nice? No, not practical at all.
And of all the Parisian neighborhoods, Montmartre is really the farthest from the main attractions (except of course for those that are in Montmartre). Although Montmartre is a fairly popular neighborhood for many tourists, chances are prices are lower there because it is not the safest area of Paris.
People do take one-day trips to the Normandy beaches, but it's one extremely long day, and with only four days in Paris I wouldn't even consider it.

Just pointing out that with packages, the prices quoted are usually double occupancy, meaning $160 for the room per night, instead of $80, for example. I think you could find a very nice hotel in a better location than Montmartre for less than $160, but I would book ahead for Oct. There are lots of budget hotels mentioned on here if you do a search and much info about the pros and cons of the areas of Paris.

I'd never go anyplace without having a hotel reservation but that's just me. I would not choose Montmarte (again, personal choice). For a hotel in your price range you might check out the Ibis chain. They are rather spartan I've heard but clean and convenient.

Normandy is a very long day trip and with only 4 days in Paris I would not attempt it. If you must do it for some reason the best choice would probably be a tour. Check out ParisVision and Cityrama website for their all day tours. You would be getting up mighty early and getting back pretty late which is why I say for only 4 days I would not do it. You can go via train, etc. by yourself, but it would entail more planning then a tour and again, would take up a lot of your limited time. There is so much to see and do in Paris that 4 days will fly by without adding a long day trip to the equation.

Oct. in Paris is high season! That'll be highly impractical! Do some research first on where to stay. It's getting late to book.

Any tourist map of Paris will reveal that there is no single place that is close to the sights, even if you limit those sights to the top three or four attractions. It is best to focus on proximity to a Metro station, with some thought to the number of correspondances (line changes) necessary for the areas of interest. Also, I would definitely book in advance. Even if you do find a room upon arrival, you will be choosing from the places that those that booked ahead did not want (bad neighborhood, bad management, etc.).

Note that Montmartre itself is fine, but some of the areas around it (where many of the "montmartre-area hotels" are located) are not so nice, particularly Rue de Clichy, which is kind of a like the Red Light District in Amsterdam without the amusement park feel to it. Place Pigalle and Barbes Rochechouart are also very iffy.

You've already been given many good reasons for booking your room in advance. Here's one more: You're only there for 4 days. Why waste that precious little time you have in Paris looking for a room?
Normandy is worth seeing, but with only 4 days total, I would save Normandy for another trip.

I agree with previous posters - looking for a hotel in Paris by driving around seems to be really impractical. Do your homework and enjoy your time in Paris - don't give up any free time doing something you can do from home. IMHO.

Most would agree Montmarte is not terribly central. There are some charming places there though. I, personally, would consider staying there with a solid recommendation, but would not just pick any place. Try looking on this board by typing Montmarte AND hotel in the text search for recos.

Here's a site to check

http://www.hotels-paris-france-hotels.com/hotels/cheap/.

Many people on this board mention the Hotel des Ecoles (I think) that is listed here with doubles starting at 70e.

If you don't mind VERY basic, The Hotel du Voltaire on the Quai Voltaire is very cheap & sits on the left bank of the Seine. Someone recently wrote a trip report & stayed there.

Finally, you can usually check reviews of hotels on tripadvisor.com

If you don't book ahead, you are likely to spend one of your precious 4 days looking for a place to stay. And you will likely be tired from your flight to boot. There is much information on this site about economy hotels. Use the search function and then come back with questions. Paris is too wonderful to spend all of your time searching for a place to stay after you arrive.

BTW, it helps to spell MontmartRe correctly! LOL

We'll be in Paris in late October and I'm wondering about three things. Would it be practical to arrive without booking rooms and finding a convenient place to stay after arriving because we don't know the city well and would rather not make a reservation for rooms in a wrong or inconvenient place.

Ooops, disregard the above. I was copying and pasting and accidentally hit the "Reply" button.
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While I suppose there may be some times in cities when <i>every single hotel room</i> is booked (e.g. StCirq's mention that October is conference season in Paris) my feeling about this is that you can likely always find <i>some</i> room, somewhere. But it won't necessarily be at a price you'd want to pay, be the type of hotel or room you'd like, or be in a location you'd like.

&quot;The Hotel du Voltaire on the Quai Voltaire is very cheap &amp; sits on the left bank of the Seine.&quot; -- I know each of us has different versions of what &quot;cheap&quot; is but last year a double was 100 Euros per night and April 2003 we paid 150 Euros for a triple. The river rooms look over the Seine and the Louvre, and I love it, despite the traffic noise. There is no AC that I saw, no minibars in the rooms, but the rooms are good size, with private baths and very clean. I found the front desk people to be professional and helpful.

kevinmc,

If you have not left for Paris yet and have not booked a hotel, consider using Priceline! We are leaving for Paris this weekend and rented an apartment, but it was not available for our first few nights. We did the Priceline thing for the first time and got a four star hotel on Victor Hugo, near the Arc for $95 per night! You can select the neighborhood and star level, so it's not too much of a gamble. On the other hand, I think that you could easily &quot;wing it&quot; and wait to secure a hotel when you arrive too. Just arrive prepared with a list of 3 or 4 places that you have already researched in terms of price range and the areas you prefer. Late October is after fashion week and the major conventions and we were even considering just booking a hotel for the first couple of nights and then doing what you are planning. We have done this often, all over the world, never with any problems. In fact, it usually works to our advantage because you have more bargaining power, plus you are not committing to a room sight unseen. Good luck!

Just pointing out, in reference to Martytravel's post, that it's *Boulevard* de Clichy that's got the XX shops and cinemas on it, and is pretty sleazy. Rue de Clichy is nearby but is fine, just a typical Parisian street with shops and caf&eacute;s on it.
And if I'm going to be really picky, neither Barbes nor Pigalle are in Montmartre proper (i.e. the old village). If you really do want to stay in this area, then anywhere around the rue/place des Abbesses, rue Lepic is fine, as is the area stretching up the hill behind these streets. Closer to the Sacr&eacute; Coeur is tacky and touristy, though not particularly unsafe. The hotels on the Boulevard de CLichy/Rochechouart are unlikely to be very wonderful, and the area's pretty tacky too. On the whole, I agree that Montmartre's not the best location for sightseeing. Best to aim for a more central area.

No, it would be better to book a hotel before going. There was a recent post on Paris hotels that you might want to check for some hotel referrals.....I stay in the 8th Arr at the Hotel D'Argenson which is only 60 euros plus daily breakfast served in your room. Local Parisian friends initially referred me to the hotel and I have stayed there the last two times I have been in Paris. Here is their website for further information: http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75008argenson2.htm

The Hotel D'Argenson is just blocks (10 min walk) from the Champs-Elysees and the famous monuments in and around that area (Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triomphe, Tombe Des Invalides, Notre Dame, etc). You can always hop on a Metro to go see Montmartre (as I did) and venture to other places via Metro - all the while making your base in the very central 8th Arr. Bon voyage!

If you persist in not booking before leaving I believe that the main tourist office on the Champs Elysees has a booking service. It just makes no sense to me, however, to spend valuable time looking for a room when you get there. Montmartre is too far out of the main tourist loop to be practical for staying.