Paris hotel in 13? Or should I stay around 5/6?
 

Thanks to the great tip posted here (flying out of Rockford), we’ve just bought tickets to visit our son (studying abroad) in Paris. His dorm is on rue de Tolbiac in the 13eme. We have visited Paris before and stayed in the 5/6eme.

For this trip, I am wondering if we should try the 13eme. I am not having much success finding hotels (and current reviews) for this area on Fodors and Tripadvisor. We’ll be leaving in 2 weeks and I need to act fast. Since this is not a central location, and I don’t need concierge service or specific facilities, I’m hoping to find a clean, quiet hotel for around 100 Euro/night. Suggestions?

There aren't a lot of great hotels in the 13th. I like parts of neighborhoods around rue Tolbiac, actually, but I suspect the area where his dorm is on the east side of ave d'Italie and that isn't where I like. I think the west side is rather pleasant and charming.

YOu can get mislead by a lot of ugly hotels around place d'Italie and in Chinatown or farther south. However, I would suggest the Hotel la Manufacture as a good possibility (just north of place d'Italie) and then maybe Hotel du Vert Galant which is near the Gobelins tapestry factory and near the park(Square Rene le Gall) on rue Croulebarbe. They even have some rooms with kitchenettes.

Those are the best two I can think of in that area. Both are 3* and should be comfortable enough, but the rates are very good because they are in the 13th. There are some other decent ones more around the border of the 5th and 13th, but I think you want to be closer to your son.

Here are the URLs:

www.hotel-la-manufacture.com
www.vertgalant.com

I've seen lots of good comments about The Vert Galant in various places (and the Manufacture, also). See
http://www.jack-travel.com/Paris/Par...rondisseme.htm

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/paris/H33340.html

I think the Vert Galant is more obscure, but the Manufacture is offered in a lot of packages and on web sites.

I wouldn't get too obsessive about what arrondissement I settled in. After all, you've conquered the first 5,000 miles. Taking a bus or Métro ride to get the last two isn't going to hurt.

Find a nice hotel anywhere inside the <i>peripherique</i> and you'll be fine. The further from the &Icirc;le you get, the better value you'll find.

We stayed in the Best Western De Weha on Ave de Choisy last year. It was just off Place de Italie, and a nice buffet breakfast was included.
http://www.paris-hotel-weha.com/

We stayed in Hotel Monge this year, and found the De Weha to be much quieter.

I was just going to mention the De Weha. Friends of ours stayed there--I think it was part of an air/hotel package--and liked it quite a bit (this was their first trip to Paris, fwiw).

La Manufacture is another good suggestion. We've spent some time in the 13eme and liked it, especially the area around Gobelins and the Butte aux Cailles, so I can envision staying there sometime and if we ever do, we'll try La Manufacture.

esm, it should be a real hoot to see who hops on in Rockford and ends up on the Paris flight. ;)

I stayed at a former Campanile hotel in the 13th on my first Paris visit. The area is safe just really not interesting. If you like Asian food there is an abundance of restaurants as the Chinatown is in the 13th.

Thank you very much for the quick replies; I knew I could rely on Fodor’s community for good info. Christina, I checked and it seems his dorm is on the west side near rue Michal intersection.

All hotels sound like very good possibilities. Vert Galant is close, and I like the description on its web-site too. Same with la manufacture and BW De Weha. I’ll contact the hotels to check on availability and will also ask my son to stop by and “report”. Christina and Allison, very kind of you to provide the links.

Robespierre, not obsessing at all, just looking forward to this “unexpected” trip and a comfortable place to stay.

Francophile03, I’ve never had Asian food in Paris. Maybe I should try this time!

Very funny Flyboy, it would be quite something if all the passengers boarding in Rockford were heading to Paris. As long as they don't book up hotels in 13eme!

You are welcome, esm! To me, the Asian restaurants in the 13th are really good. The ones in the 5th and 6th are just okay.

esm, if you're staying in the 13eme, here's a wonderful restaurant to try: L'Avant Goute on 26 rue Bobillot. It's not far from the Place d'Italie metro. Bon Appetit!

Just a quick follow up. We stayed at Citadines on Palace d’Italie since several of the suggested hotels were booked up, and it worked out very well. Very convenient to our son’s dorm, with plenty of nice cafes and restaurants nearby. We had dinner at L'Avant Goute and agree that it is a wonderful restaurant, thanks mermaid.

We had a great trip and enjoyed staying at the 13eme. We took long walks all around the area and I really liked rue de la Butte aux Cailles. The shops at Place d’Italie included a Tati (discount store) and a good supermarket called Champion which was handy.

You're very welcome, esm. What did you have to eat?

I should have written it down but it was our last night and all that walking caught up with me! For aperitif we had a mixed melon cocktail. My starter was cheese and artichokes and I had fish for my main. Dessert was the warm chocolate cake with ice cream. My husband chose beef and my son had veal but I’m not sure what they ordered for their dessert! Of course, everything sounds much better in French, but I’m too rusty to even try.

I have a friend who stays at the Campanilles regularly and loves them. Happy Travels!

So, am I safe in assuming that you would patronize Citadines again?
It sounds good to me. Being a little far out is not a particular bother because the metro seems very convenient.

Sure. We had stayed at Citadines St. Germain two years ago and liked it. It may not pass the “charm” test for some because it is a “cookie cutter” style hotel. You also get one set of towels per person (you have to pay extra if you want fresh towels everyday) and no maid service unless you stay longer than a week.

On the other hand, there is a small kitchen and a fridge which I really like. I don’t like to go out to breakfast every morning and prefer to have juice and snack handy. The kitchen is equipped with dishes and bottle-opener and so on. Perfect for having fresh bread, cheese and wine. Another big plus is AC which allows you to sleep comfortably and not worry about outside noise.

For this visit, we wanted to be nearer our son’s dorm and the Place d’Italie location was perfect. But proximity aside, there are some nice areas within 13eme which are indeed charming. Lots of visitors discuss how much the atmosphere and feel of Paris is important to them. For this, we only needed to walk a couple of minutes away from the large roundabout. Rue Mouffetard is within easy walking distance and there are lots of nice eating places around. The metro station is right outside the hotel.

Interesting. Glad you had a good time.

Heck, maybe I'd stay there just so I could be very close to L'Avant Gout which I looove.

Did you end up trying Chinese food while you were there? I have, but I don't think we chose well. I've had much better here in SF.

No Chinese food this time, just didn't work out but we walked around the area and there were a couple of restaurents that would be worth trying.