irishiningo

I just wanted to thank the poster(s) who recommended Hotel Monge for my trip to Paris and to let others know what it was like.

At 55 Rue Monge, one block from a Metro station, and within a 10-minute walk to Notre Dame. About 70 euros, it was small but ideal for me, a solo traveler (although they do have bigger rooms than mine). Latin Quarter...a couple of blocks from the cafes and restaurants. Sometimes, right before bed, I ran up there to get a midnight snack from one of the small food shops, like gyros, crepes, and pasta.

The room was small, but had a full bed, a dresser, and an armoire, so not tiny. Window with a small balcony to peek out from and onto the street. (The first evening I kept looking out across the rooftops and saying with a goofy smile, "I'm in Paris, I'm in Paris.&quot Clean modern bathroom. Air-conditioned. Has a lift. Owners and staff are friendly and helpful.

I felt comfortable, safe and secure, and after a couple of days felt a bit like I lived in the neighborhood, running to the boulangerie, pharmacy, market.

If I go back with family, I will look into renting an apartment, but if I ever do it solo again, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there.

One item of interest: their confirmation back to me indicated an 8-day cancellation notice.

kappa

Glad to hear you liked Monge. It has been one of my hotel choices when I stay in Paris alone. In recent summers their well air-condtioned rooms are such a relief, even if the hotel itself is quite plain but nothing to comlain about considering the price and location.

cls2paris

Good to hear! I leave today and will be staying at Hotel Monge for 5 nights!

dutyfree

Torn between staying at the Hotel Monge for a great price or at the Novotel Les Halles which is another 40 euros. Its a 4 day trip for my college daughter and myself-so was the location easy for traveling around (I have a really bad knee and would probably need to use buses and metro more). Any other recent imput would be most appreciated!

cls2paris

Hi Dutyfree - there is a metro stop (Monge) a short distance, a few buildings to the end of the block, turn and you're there. There is another one, a long block in the other direction (Cardinal Lemoine). These are both fairly small stops so not a lot of walking up and down steps to get to the tracks. I didn't take a bus but I did notice a bus stop down the street. I thought it was convenient and if were going to stay in that area again, I'd stay there. Have a fun trip!

tod

irishiningo - Your 'Goofy smile' has made my day!
I remember so very well this time last year doing the same thing "I'm in Paris! I'm in Paris!
Emotions just overwhelm one as you spend your very first night with an old friend to whom you said "au revoir - see you soon".

SharonG

I had the same kind of tiny room there and I loved it. Every morning I looked out onto the street from the little balcony and had the same goofy smile on my face. Especially when a woman appeared on the balcony across the street, around 8AM,stark naked, drinking a cup of coffee!!!

suze

I sent a girlfriend there this summer on the recommendation of Fodorites. She liked it very much! Her only slightly negative comment, was that although there was a Metro stop nearby, it was not on a major line, so transfer was required to get to all the places she was trying to go by public transportation.

kappa

> it was not on a major line

Suze, I know what your friend meant. On the other hand, I know a bus line that goes nearby and direct to 7em (les invalides are) and 15em (Eiffel Tower area) that I found convenient for my interests. I try to take bus these days than metro as much as possible.

kappa

And out of 6th floor window facing the street, I think you can see a part of the Notre Dame to the right, a bit far away though, that's not bad at all.

Travelnut

Dutyfree, I think your transportation connections will be much more dense near the Novotel than the Monge, and I think the room at the Novotel will be a little better than the Monge; the tradeoff may be the setting - however we just walked around les Halles/rue Montorgueil in May and didn't see it being an unpleasant area at all.

I emailed a specific Novotel earlier this year to ask if they had twin rooms. They emailed back that "all" rooms at Novotel have 1 double + 1 single bed. I wonder if that's true..? (maybe they meant all their rooms).

Christina

I stayed near the Monge once, although not at it, and I agree that metro line isn't quite as convenient as some other areas where you have a choice. The main issue is that it is only one line, none intersect, so you have to transfer to go east-west to St Germain, for example. It does go over to the Louvre and Pyramides, though, so could be a lot worse. I used the bus on that street (no. 47), but that wasn't convenient for a lot of places (and isn't as frequent at times) and generally involves transfers more than the metro as it basically goes across Ile St Louis and then to Chatelet and Gare de l'Est. It's not terrible for transportation options, though.

However, I thought the Monge metro stop was up a short, rather steep hill (at place Monge), so wondered how that would work with the knee. Maybe I am forgetting, and there was also an entrance more down on the regular part of rue Monge where it is flatter.

suze

kappa- thank you for the bus idea (for me for future paris trips). i'm usually pretty good with public transportation but the Paris Metro was a bit overwhelming for me. staying above ground sounds like an excellent idea.

dutyfree

Okay-I booked the Hotel Monge for next week for my daughter and myself. I am interested in anyone giving me their "favs" in the area around the hotel-restaurants, shopping,just sitting and watching the world go by places,etc. Its a mother-daughter bonding weekend so all information passed on will greatly be appreciated. the princess has not been in Paris since she was 6 so it should be fun?

Gretchen

I haven't stayed at the hotel but the pl. Monge market is our favorite. Good foie gras guy there.

BootsN

As Christina mentioned, Bus 47 goes past the hotel and will take you to the market at Maubert-Mutualité, Nôtre Dame, and the Hotel de Ville. You can walk down to Blvd. St-Germain and take #63, my favorite line, to St-Germain/ Odéon, St-Sulpice, Bon Marché, near Les Invalides, Trocadéro (just across the river from the Tour Eiffel), and ending near the Musée Marmottan. Going uphill a bit, you can take #89 to the Panthéon, the Luxembourg Gardens, and Montparnasse. If you walk to the Seine, you can catch #24 which goes along the Seine to St-Michel, to Musée d'Orsay, across the river to the Place de la Concorde, the Madeleine, and finally the Gare St-Lazare. I think all the 20 buses go to and from the Gare St-Lazare, the 90s to and from the Gare Montparnasse, the 30s the Gare de l'Est, and the 40s the Gare du Nord. The Carte Orange is an excellent buy if you use public transport much.

dutyfree

BootsN-thanks for the various bus numbers to get to the different areas. I really prefer public transportation when I am overseas so that is perfect!I will copy and take with me next week. Anyone else?

irishiningo

dutyfree, you're probably in France now, so I missed you. If you read this when you get back, I hope you had a great trip. Please post and let me know how you liked the Monge and the neighborhood.

mcnyc

Thank you for coming back to post such a nice review of the Hotel Monge. I was thinking of passing it by since for some reason, I remember it as the hotel without an en suite bathroom. But maybe I'm confusing it with another hotel I was searching for at that time.

I'm checking out the website right now, and it will definitely be a top contender for my time in Paris.

Thank you for setting my record straight.

Toupary

Line 7 (Place Monge) is north-south, line 10 (Cardinal Lemoine) is east-west. You can access either one at Jussieu, which is about the same distance from the hotel. I guess everyone has a different idea of convenience, but I think this is a very good location.