My partner are planning to visit Paris from May 13 to May 23 of 05. Many of the nicer two star hotels do not have air. Will this be a problem at that time? Thank you for any assistance.

Probably not - it is likely to be pleasantly cool in the evenings.

Hard to say. We were in Paris the last week of May in 2003 and definitely needed air conditioning. May was cool in Paris this year.

I've often said this but. . . the evenings may be pleasant and if you can open your hotel window and get a nice cross ventilation (unlikely) then everything is fine until:
a) the latenight revelers walk below your window or through your courtyard at night, keeping you up another hour or so off and on.
b) the trash man come to pick up all the trash in the street -- which happens in the middle of the night maybe 1 or 2 AM, you'll lose another hour or so sleep.
c) deliveries start about 4 AM to the shops or restaurants in your neighborhood. Figure you might as well get up then because you probably won't sleep any more. How much noise can delivery people make?
d) in case you fell back to sleep, if you're within a block or two of a major street, expect the morning traffic to start roaring about 6 AM.


Maybe if you live in a city and you're used to the noise then you won't have any problem. Rarely can I sleep anywhere in Paris with the windows open.

I think part of the noise complaint is because everyone wants to stay 'where the action is'. I've stayed twice on rue Lebouteaux in the 17th and once on rue Sophie Germain in the 14th. Both are side streets, not main thoroughfares. Left the window open for ventilation/cool, minimal noise. We arise at 6:30-7:00 anyway so any early morning noise would be ok, but there wasn't any in these two areas. That is another reason why I look for places NOT in the middle of things. The metro will get you anywhere quickly, unless you are going from, oh the 20th to the 15th, or something.

I agree. I generally pick hotels where I know I can get a good night's sleep with the window open if necessary. I'd rather have fresh air than A/C any day, except of course if it's sweltering outside. I know, I know, you can argue about how "fresh" Paris air is, but I still like it.

And they don't pick up trash on those streets during the night? That's frankly the most annoying part to me as it seems to take forever and those trucks are so noisy. I'm curious what happens to the trash in that area?

Hi surf

The answer is "maybe". What's your budget?

I think the 2 side streets did not have a lot of businesses on them. I don't even recall seeing garbage cans or bags set on the curb. I've never heard the garbage trucks in the middle of the night anywhere I've stayed, the earliest might have been 6:00am. Even the traffic noise on avenue de Tourville didn't really bother us after the initial hearing. Maybe we're heavy sleepers! The one hotel with noises that bothered me the most was St Christophe with those whooshing, flushing, running water sounds thru the pipes in the walls. (otherwise it was a very nice moderate hotel).

I will try to notice more about garbage pickups next time! Could be a whole new trend in hotel inquiries.. "I'd like a double room, not too small, with little or no garbage pickup, for under 100 euro, please.."

In an attempt to be more helpful:

Inexpensive hotels with A/C:

Cardinal Rive Gauche *** 120-130E / Dbl (5th)
http://www.hotelcardinal.com/

Hotel Monge ** 75-130E / Dbl
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005monge.htm

Hotel Muguet ** 97-105E / Dbl (7th)
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75007muguet.htm

Hotel Alize Grenelle *** 102-108E / Dbl (15th)
http://www.hotelbeaugralize.com/alize/indexUS.html

Hotel Beaugrenelle St Charles ** 96-103E / Dbl (15th)
http://www.hotelbeaugralize.com/beau...e/indexUS.html

The chances are slim that you'll AC in May. I don't know where Patrick stayed, but we had no problems sleeping in the 5th with our windows open!

OK, I'll admit it's probably a personal problem of mine. I couldn't sleep with the windows open in Venice either -- and we certainly know there was no traffic there. Nor in Montepulciano, because the birds started chirping before dawn. In fact, I can't usually sleep with the windows open at home in Naples, Florida and there is only an occassional passing car during the night. So maybe this isn't a problem for most people, but it is for me.

We were there in late may this year and A/C was needed. The temps topped out in the high 70s, but the humidity was quite high.

I agree with Patrick. I usually stay in fairly quiet areas of Paris, but I still like A/C - Paris is definitely not countryside! As for keeping cool, I hit a really sweltering few days in May in Paris (I think it was 2002), and the air conditioned room was a godsend. And I'm from Miami and used to the heat!

I just stayed at the Hotel Minerve recently, which is a well located 2* hotel in the 5th arr., and our room had a/c. The weather was unseasonably warm, so it definitely came in handy!

I wouldn't worry about booking a hotel with AC in mid-May, wouldn't even consider it for reasons of heat. I know there is some small probability of it being hot enough at that time but it's really rare. I might if cost or hotels were not different, but it sounds like surfside wants a 2* hotel, and the choices are much greater without AC.

I have been bothered by outside noise due to traffic if I stay in a room very near a major boulevard or have a room above a restaurant or cafe. Unfortunately, there is a cafe on the ground floor next door to my favorite hotel, and people coming/going can be a little noisy late evening. I had an apt. in a fairly quiet side street near Censier metro but unfortunately motorbikes are quite popular in Paris and they are extremely noisy so that noise did bother me even though on a street a block or two away.

Garbage trucks have never bothered me. I've never noticed any garbage pickup in the middle of the night in Paris, so I guess I slept through it -- and until just a couple years ago, I always booked hotels without AC in Paris, even in summer.

HI
I responded to your other posting as well. I agree with Christina, the odds of the weather being very hot in mid-May are slim. I've been there over the last weekend in May and one year we had daytime temps only in the 50s, with rain every day. Of course each year is different. I do want a/c myself in summer.

I have heard trash trucks in Paris early in the morning, but not "in the middle of the night." Anyway, I usually take a room facing the courtyard, so I'm not bothered by street noise. A chacun son goût.

Good point, StCirq
When I make my reservation requests I almost always include "quiet" or "courtyard" room in my request, unless the hotel is in a secluded area to begin with

Thank you for all your informative responces. enjoy!