We're looking for a basic, clean, quiet hotel in the 5th or 6th. We don't need anything fancy. (We can enjoy plenty of charm after we leave the room.) We have the backpacker spirit but have a bigger budget and are old enough to want a real bed and a shower in the room. It's been 6 years since I was last in Paris. Are we crazy to think something exists for us in the $55-75 range? Thanks for your suggestions.

Try the following URL <BR>http://digital.france.com/hotels/ <BR>click on "smal Parisian hotels". <BR> <BR>You can also try <BR>www.france-hotel-guide.com <BR>

Harriet, <BR> <BR>I have booked a hotel for around $70 a night at the Grand Hotel Leveque for this March. I heard about it from this web site and did some research also. You can book the room by fax or email. I used email and they always responded within a day and in English. The web site address is http://interresa.ca/hotel/leveque/ <BR>and the email address is [email protected]. Not to be too lengthly, buy I have also included what Rick Steves said about this hotel. Have a great trip. <BR> <BR>Paris' Rue Cler: Can a Street Be a Sight? <BR>by Rick Steves <BR>Even the metro stop for my village home in Paris is grand: it's Ecole Militaire. Ascending, the French Annapolis with a front yard made for breaking in jack boots--1,000 at a time--is a holler away. But turn your back on that and you have Flo's, a patisserie filled with the kind of food you gift wrap. And around the corner is Rue Cler. <BR> <BR>Walking down Rue Cler makes me feel like I must have been a poodle in a previous life. It's a cobbled pedestrian street lined with shops run by people who've found their niche...boys who grew up on quiche. Aproned fruit stall attendants coax doll-like girls into trying their cherries. And ladies, after a lifetime of baguette munching, debate the merits of the street's rival boulangeries. <BR> <BR>Proudly sporting its one star, as if that's all there was, the Grand Hotel Leveque pries apart a cafe and a cheese stall just wide enough to plant its front door. Hotel Leveque is Grand in the sense of grand old days. The cackle of Mimi the receptionist (who is endlessly entertained by her inability to understand her English-speaking guests) and the thin soprano of the singing maid waft up the courtyard that provides air but no view to half the rooms. <BR> <BR>Surveying Paris from my fourth-floor window, Mansaart's town survives. Only the churches and the Eiffel Tower exceed the six-story code. Buildings fill the city like waffle mix--done just about right. Stately black grillework, frosted with big-city dust, treats humble windows like aristocratic balconies. Below me is village Paris, my market street, Rue Cler. <BR>

Try Hotel La Motte Piquet on the corner of Rue Cler and Avenue La Motte Piquet. Ask for a corner room. [If you want a double bed] We had room 205. Tiny room, great bathroom and a working atm under our window Not sure how many twin bedded rooms had their own bath. <BR>Hotel Champ de Mar also fits your price, but I can vouch for La Motte Piquet's bathrooms personallyHere's the website: http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h7...tepicquet2.htm <BR>Being near rue Cler is a lot of fun. And *yes* Flo's is to drool over... <BR>BTW Hotel Muguet is about to raise its rates according to the website. <BR>

These hotels we are recommending are all in the 7eme. The 6eme is chicer, the 5eme funkier, but the 7eme is an upscale solid Parisienne neighborhood. <BR>

Merci for the websites. These are much better than most for budet accommodations. Thanks too for suggestions in the Rue Cler area. Not my first choice (I'd still prefer the 4e, 5e or 6e), but it's looking like a close second. Flo's alone may be worth changing my priorities.

I've hesitated to post info about this, since the hotel I'm about to write about is not like the usual ones we stay in..but it has many "pros" and just a few "cons", and is right in the 5th, so here goes: <BR>Hotel du Bresil, 10 rue le Goff <BR>First, the pros- <BR>Very close to Luxembourg RER, which is a big bonus for travel to the airport, especially when carrying your own bags! <BR>Comfortable hard beds, good pillows <BR>Well lit rooms - unusual for Europe! <BR>"En-suite" bathroom <BR>Tv (even remote!) <BR>Nice lounge and breakfast room <BR>Great price (400FF double including breakfast) <BR>An elevator <BR>Friendly and helpful staff <BR>A great view of the Eiffel tower at the end of the short block! <BR>Is this a plus?-Sigmund Freud lived there! <BR>Cons: <BR>A bit shabby - fraying carpets <BR>Mildew in the shower <BR>Tacky decor <BR>But hey - a deal for the price, and right in the heart of the action, but on a quiet street! <BR>Phone 011-33-1-43-54-76-11, fax 1-46-33-45-78. <BR>

Encore, merci for the suggestions. I think I stayed just around the corner from Hotel du Bresil many years ago. Aside from the mold, this sounds very much like what I'm used to. Thanks. <BR> <BR>Still considering other suggestions...

Please let me know what you find that looks good. I am looking too. Thanks and good luck. <BR>

If you find something erally good, would you be good enough to let me know? I'm planning to arrive mid-march. Thanks <BR>[email protected]

If you find something really good, would you be good enough to let me know? I'm planning to arrive in Paris mid-march. Thanks <BR>[email protected]