Paris and Poitiers
 

Please offer suggestions for moderately priced hotels in Paris, with easy access to points of interest via subway (metro?). Recommendations for dining in both Paris and Poitiers would be greatly appreciated, as well. We are a family of 4, celebrating our son's 18th birthday and our daughter's acceptance at Vanderbilt. We are on a modest budget, but must seize the time and opportunity to reward 2 wonderful children. We plan to be in Paris on June 11th, 2012 for 1 week and in Poitiers for 3 days. Thanks.

Kimbe

Why Poitiers?

What do you consider "moderate"?

In Poitiers, take the Hotel de l'Europe; it's right in the centre, but off the street, and is very good value for money.

Staying with friends who own a vacation home there.

Is this your first visit to Paris?

If not, and since you are there for a week, I think an apartment would be preferable - kitchen, 1 or 2 bedrooms, more space, perhaps with a washer/dryer.

What is your approx. nightly budget?

I love Poitier's, the most beautiful churches. I have friends who live outside in the village o Bonnes.

One person's "moderate/modest" is another person's "expensive," so an actual number for the budget is really important in making recommendations. In addition to that, are you looking for one room for all four of you? Those are harder to come by in Europe than in the US, so would make a difference in hotel recommendations.

To get you started, here are two threads with hotel suggestions on the Left and Right Banks. They cover several different price levels - begun in 2008 but have been updated over the years. Lots of info there, if you have time to scroll through it.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ank-thread.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ank-thread.cfm

In Poitiers, you might consider having a meal at the Bistrot du Boucher.

http://www.bistrotduboucher.fr/conte...iers-86000.htm

The night I was there, the servings were generous and tasty and the service was fine. It wasn't a highlight of my culinary experience in France, but it was more than satisfactory.

And I agree with cigalechanta - Poitiers has some beautiful churches. Don't miss the incredible Notre-Dame le Grande.

Hope that helps!

<i>I love Poitier's, the most beautiful churches</i>

For three days?

'I love Poitier's''

and who owns Poitier? Do you also love Pari's?

Sorry, but the uncalled for use of the possessive for a plural is bad enough, but when one uses it for an ordinary place name ending in 's' ... Skip the apostrophe.

Perhaps the apostrophe was a random autocorrect?

Thanks to all for your responses and links.It will be our first visit to France. I was hoping to spend no more than $175.00 per night but was counting on 4 in a room. Is that an unreasonable expectation?

I could budget more for a room (or 2) but would then have to spend fewer days in Paris.

An apartment is an option that I didn't consider. Thanks for the suggestion.

<<I was hoping to spend no more than $175.00 per night but was counting on 4 in a room. Is that an unreasonable expectation?>>

Yes, and you'll be very hard-pressed to find a room for 4 anyway. You can search for chambres communicantes, which some hotels offer, but those are fairly limited and probably not within your budget unless you choose a hotel in an outlying area (which isn't a bad thing, considering how easy it is to get around Paris).

That was a typo, real estate queen.

Definitely an apartment for a family of 4, especially when the "kids" are really adults. more room and generally cheaper, plus you can save by eating a few meals "at home", having somewhere to store those incredibly expensive soft drinks, buying in your own wine and beer, etc. etc.

however, i respectfully disagree with St. Cirq re whether you should stay in an outlying or central area. IMHO being centrally located is one of the best things you can do on a first trip, and when you have an apartment to go back to, where you can put your feet up and have a cup of tea, it's even more important. yes, Paris is easy to get around, when you've got the hang of it, but trapsing round all day because your accommodation is right at the end of a metro line and you don't want to go back, as you know if you do, you won't go out again, might put a blight on things. Better stay centrally, have a base which you can retreat to when necessary, and be able to enjoy Paris without worrying about long journeys on the metro late at night.

Agree that it will be quite the challenge to find a quad room with your budget. Hotels that have them have only a few and they tend to book up far in advance. It's late to be looking for June. And, quad rooms tend to have two double beds with very little floor space or storage. You'd also have only one bathroom.

Finding an apartment at this late date will likely be more challenging. You'd have to up your budget considerably for a place that accommodates four adults.

Do a search on the TripAdvisor Paris forum for "family rooms" and "quad rooms" for dozens of recommendations and suggestions.

You might also want to try Venere.com for your dates to get an idea of what will be within your budget and availability.

Beware of "outlying" areas with budget accommodations in neighborhoods you may find not only charmless but "uncomfortable".