beammethere

Although we were in Paris almost 40 yrs ago as backpacking kids, we are considering this our "first time" there. We'll be spending 4 nites in early May and are looking for a nice hotel in the $200 US range or less. Where do we begin? What arrondissements/hotels are best for first timers? ...nearness to Metro (very important), walking distance to several attractions, restaurants, local charm. We've looked at the Threads but are having difficulty narrowing down a primary location from the many possibilities.
Suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.

Christina

It's the same as any big city, it is most convenient for first time tourist to stay in the relative center of a city. If you look at a map, for Paris that is arr. 1-12, I'd say, and some parts of some of those are a bit farther away (ie, 10-12). Assuming you are 60ish doesn't narrow it down much as you could still be happy anywhere, but your budget is modest, of course, so you can't expect luxury at that price. YOu can get a nice one, of course, about 3* level. That's roughtly 150 euro. YOu won't even get a 3* hotel for that rate in May in the most expensive areas, like St Germain.

pdx

Check out Hotel Bonaparte, one of Ira's suggestions. I haven't been there but might be spending a night in June. Looks nice and has reasonable prices. Ira seems like a sensible guy, I think we can trust his judgement.
http://www.hotelbonaparte.fr/

Dukey1

Read the REVIEWS of the Hotel Bonaparte BEFORE you make a final decision.

Michel_Paris

For a first trip, I would pick the Left Bank, 5th or 6th arrondissements, aka St. Germain and Latin Quarter. I would also look at the Islands, which fall into the 4th.

Other areas are not bad, but for a first trip...

These areas will give you some sites you can walk too, plenty of restaurants and bakeries, the Seine, good access to airport,etc...

Have a look at the thread here called Left Bank Hotels

For that price, you can get a decent hotel.

Michel_Paris

Also, do not rule out an appartment rental, if you are going for a week or more. VRBO is one website to do a bit of browsing to see price ranges.

boyreporter

A few years back, we stayed here, in the 7th arrondissement:

http://www.hotel-leveque.com/en/gran...e-paris/tarifs

Pros: It's in your price range, within a few blocks of a couple of Metro stops, it's on a pretty street with restaurants, and it's about a 10-minute walk to the Eiffel Tower and Batobus; we didn't go to d'Orsay that trip, but I imagine that was 10 minutes as well. I've stayed closer to the center, but if the things I listed are important to you, you might look at reviews on Tripadvisor. Cons would be the small lift, longer walk to Notre Dame/etc., and a small room, in which you're not allowed to eat.

alienor

We stayed at the Hotel Bonaparte a few years ago. Pleasant enough, but only one drawer for clothes and a tiny closet. Plus they charged extra for juice at breakfast. Not what I consider 3 stars.

Michel_paris is right, VRBO is a great way to rent an apartment for little money. I'm fairly sure he owns quite a few of them too!

Ninkette

We stayed at Hotel Le Clement in the 6th last year and loved the location and hotel. Its around your price range. Its one block off of Blvd St. Germain but was very quiet. Its near 3 metro stops so makes getting around easy.

zmac

In the 6th, but more towards Montparnasse, Hotel Aviatic is a nice hotel with good reputation.
http://aviatic-hotelsaintgermain.com
It's a lively area but the hotel is in a little quiet street. Close to the popular Saint-Germain-des-Prés but not overly touristy. Very nice local feel.

mztery

for a couple who are going for the "first time" for only 4 days, renting an apartment does NOT seem like a great optin.

We have stayed at a lovely hotel in the 7th called Hotel Relais Bosquet. We also stayed at the Motte Piquet which we liked oK .

Jennywren58

Try http://www.hotelabbatialsaintgermain.com/ am staying there for 3 nights in April....has good reviews on TA.

Christina

well, the Hotel Bonaparte ISN'T a 3* hotel, so that's not surprising that is doesn't seem like one. Neither is the Clement. You are kind of looking at 2* hotels in St Germain for that price range.

Ninkette

I've stayed at 2 other 3* hotels in St. Germain and I'd recommend the Clement over them any day. I actually didn't even realize it was a 2* until I read Cristina's post.

kerouac

I certainly would not recommend Saint Germain or the 6th or 7th arrondissements except to my worst enemy.

Even to an American, I would recommend the areas where European tourists stay -- mostly along the 'grands boulevards' (2nd and 9th arrondissements, then becoming the 3rd and 10th arrondissements) -- basically the routes of the parallel metro lines 8 and 9. Lots of reasonable restaurants in those areas, reasonable hotel rates and many real shops rather than the snooty high end places of St. Germain.

But then again, to each his own.

beammethere

kerouac,

We liked your suggestion to stay in the 2nd and 9th or 3rd and 10th. Hopefully hotel prices will be more reasonable. Do you have any specific hotels in these areas that you would recommend? We prefer good location and comfort rather than luxury. And we will be spending much more of our time out exploring than in the room. We are hoping to stay at about 150 euros, give or take.

Thanks.

kerouac

The problem with those of us who live in Paris is that we do not have much hotel information! However, there are quite a few places that look charming in the streets surrounding metro Grands Boulevards, just off rue du Faubourg Montmartre.

WillTravel

I've never stayed in St. Germain, just because I don't want to pay the price, but I have to say that lots of people seem to really, really love it.

I have stayed in the 9th in the area that Kerouac is recommending, and that was fine. The following hotel, in this area, was not open when I was there, but it sometimes has great deals. It's a new hotel (2 or 3 years old), which I consider preferable to old and supposedly charming.

http://www.all-seasons-hotels.com/gb...ra/index.shtml

McGill

My husband & daughter spent a week in Paris in September and stayed in the Marais.

I can not rate it highly enough we walked everywhere from there - although the metro was easy enough we preferred to walk it has a local neighbourhood feel with lot's of restaurants and nice boutique shops (if you like that) It is also home to some interesting museums if you do not want to wander too far..

P.s we had not been to Paris for about 15 yrs either

We actually rented an apartment using this website:

http://www.parisautrement.com/en/par...ent-apartments

We had a great time and got the best of both worlds without spending a fortune.

denisea

I don't find the 6th snooty at all. We love the area and enjoy it immensely. Hotel Louis II is nice, clean and not snobby. Staff is very helpful and the area restaurants are friendly.