Paris hotels for single travellers
 

I will be travelling to Paris in June for just 3 nights. I am a young woman, travelling alone, and prefer to be somewhere safe and close to the main sights as well as the underground stations.

Can somebody please recommend a few hotels to look into? My budget is 80-100 Euro per night. The hotel room should be equipped with its own bathroom.

I am getting very overwhelmed with all the lodging options that's available. I haven't decided my itinerary but I have only 3 days. (On my last trip to Paris, I saw the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and sprinted throught the Louvre.)

I was in Paris solo in November. I stayed at the Hotel Relais du Louvre.
One of the "single" rooms was clean and really pretty nice It is within your budget. The Hotel is in the 1eme...out the front door and to your left is the Louvre. You can see a picture on "reservethebest.com" (Hotels, then by District...1st)

I think your budget may be a bit low to get what you want. I suggest looking at the Hotel Voltaire which sits right on the left bank of the Seine. It used to be very inexpensive but it may be more now.

Also, I suggest doing a text search here. Type budget hotel AND paris in the box above & click find. Previous posts mentioning budget hotels will come up on the left, the most recent on top.

I highly recommend the Hotel Royal Phare. It was around the corner from Rue Clair. Also, in a great location for walking. There is a metro stop in front, supermarket next door, and on the otherside, a bakery and deli (great stuff!). Across the street is a restaurant that I regret eating there on my last day...I would have eaten there everyday! The hotel room was very clean and quiet. It had great plumbing. I paid 70 Euros for two beds. Please let me know if you need more info. I think they have a website.

Last September I stayed at the Hotel St. Jacques on Rue de Ecole. It was 70 E. The location was good, the room was small, but quite cozy - nice bathroom and the staff were very helpful and friendly.

Hotel Monge in the Latin Quarter (5eme)would also be a good choice and should be within your budget. Last time I stayed there (two years ago) it was 84 euros for a double.

You could walk to Notre Dame, the Islands, the Pantheon, Luxembourg Gardens, even the Louvre and Pompidou. Metro connections are good too and not much more than a block away. The street (rue Monge) and surrounding streets such as the rue des Ecoles are lively enough that you should feel safe, even at night.

I recently stayed at Hotel de la Sorbonne on rue Victor Cousin (http://www.hotelsorbonne.com) in the Latin Quarter. There are a few metro stations within a short walk (I had a hard time with getting turned around and lost, so they were probably even closer than I though). I was by myself, and always felt safe. My rates were 75 - 80 euros a night, and I had a private bath; I think I was in on the end of off-season rates, though, so I think they'll be a little higher in June. My room was small, which didn't matter to me, but clean, and the staff was pleasant and helpful.

The Hôtel-Dieu (hospital) near Notre-Dame offers a whole floor of hotel-style rooms for around 80€. Safety is especially good, as the doors to the building are locked at 11:00 p.m. and no one gets in without being checked. The rooms all have their own bathrooms and a fair number of amenities. Here's a web site for more information:

http://www.hotelsearch-in-paris.com/...otelSearch.y=8

Hi

I think that they are in the process of closing down the Hotel de Dieu. At least there were large banners reading "Save the Hotel de Dieu" a couple of weeks ago.

Hi jn,

I recommend the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 rue Bonaparte in the 6th.

Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67

This is where we always stay.

I've stayed in Hotel Cluny Square http://www.cluny-paris-hotel.com/ and the Parc St Severin http://www.parisby.com/severin/ both by myself and was very pleased with both of them. Both are right by the Cluny Metro stop, as well as St Michel. You can probably get a rate of around 70 euros at the Cluny Square at ratestogo.com, the Parc St Severin runs around 100. The Cluny had better soundproofing and bigger rooms, the Severin had a better view.

I stayed at Hotel Les Gobelins end of April. I found it here through Fodors and you can read my review and other guests' comments by hitting the hotel key on the Fodors home page. I paid 53 euros for a single bed, and bath with shower. You can get a nice room onthe courtyard with double bed and a tub for 70e. They have a webiste & you can book online, but they fillup fast. Good luck.

The possible closing of the Hôtel-Dieu is what the banners are all about. Nothing is likely to happen for quite a while, as there is a lot of opposition--and the bureaucracy grinds slowly.

Does anyone have a picture of the rooms at Hotel Dieu. I was thinking of staying there on my next trip as a nopvelty but I would like to see a bit more of what its like inside first....anyone??

jnyce527: I have stayed at Hotel Residence Monge in the Latin Quarter and was very satisfied. It is clean, comfortable, modern, within your price range, and very close to Notre Dame. You might want to do a search for it on the web.

www.hotel-hospitel.com/ang/accueil.htm

They don't intend closing this year I guess, because I just inquired for myself, traveling solo, this December, and they confirmed availability.

Other hotels in your price range I've been investigating for a budget return trip to Paris are Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc, Bonaparte, St Jacques,and Mont Blanc.
All are listed here (you can search on this message board by name). Or also look for comments at rants and raves (click at the top of this screen on Hotels) and at www.tripadvisor.com
I'm also inquiring at the Brighton, not sure about current prices.

Here's an article about the Hôtel-Dieu controversy, from the bonjourparis.com site.

http://www.bonjourparis.com/pages/ar...articleId=1265

jnyce527,

Last year I stayed as a single woman at the Grand Hotel Jeanne d'arc for 53 euros per night. Single price is now 57 euros, so it's well within your price range. It's noted for it's quaint decor & cleanliness. Bathroom was in the bedroom. www.hoteljeannedarc.com
It's located in the Marais just around the corner from a quaint, little tree-lined square full of benches to sit on & restaurants. Five minutes east is the Place des Vosges and a couple minutes further is Bofinger, the oldest Brasserie in Paris & famed for its gorgeous stained-glass cupola (in the heavily policed non-smoking section).

In my trip report last year I noted over & over again how very safe I felt in this neighborhood and walking to the hotel. There is a cafe/tabac on the corner of rue Caron & rue St-Antoine, 2 minutes walk south of the hotel that stays open late so if you need a late-night snack this is the place to go. Across the street are 2 boulangeries: Paul & Miss Manon, the latter opens at 6:30 am, I think.

The hotel closes at 11pm but there is always someone at the front desk; you just buzz the door and they let you in.

Breakfast is around 6-7 euros but I prefer the breakfast at the local boulangeries.

Below are notes compiled from my trip report regarding the Jeanne d'arc:
"Grande Hotel Jeanne d'Arc - 3 r. Jarente, 5 minutes from Place de Vosges

Loved my room, though it's QUITE small but I really didn't care 'cause I thought it charming with its beamed ceiling, French windows, blue/green orientalish carpet and coral bedspread and wallpaper, little desk, quaint light fixtures, and my 5th floor (really 6th floor) ROOFTOP view!

Walked home along the northern street of Notre Dame, crossed the bridge over to Ile St-Louis, then halfway down the rue St-Louis-en-l'Ile to reach my little hotel in the Marais by midnight. Passed many couples and young groups of people on my way. Wonderful thing about this area is that I feel completely safe & comfortable as a single woman walking through it late at night. What immense freedom.

One of the things that I really liked about my hotel is that it is 5 minutes from the Metro station St. Paul on the #1 line, so it's very convenient to everything. I'd find my way back to the hotel by walking along rue St-Antoine to the huge St. Louis-St. Paul church, just past it on the left would be rue Caron which would take me right through the middle of Place St-Catherine (a beautiful little square with restaurants lining it and tons of people hanging out - prime location for people watching) then around the corner to the Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc.

BOULANGERIES/PATISSIERS
Miss Manon - Patissier/Boulanger/Traiteur - for breakfast (a real pain au chocolat & café - somehow they just don't taste like this at Panera in Cincy). Miss Manon is open from 7am 'til 10pm every day except Monday.
Boulangerie Paul - sits next to Miss Manon on rue Saint-Antoine just a 3-minute walk from the hotel. (Directions from the hotel: through Place-St- Cathérine & down rue Caron & directly across the street at #87).

CAFÉ
Also there is the Café Tabac Jean Bart for cigarettes, late-night café or frites & cidre!!
One night, I hadn't eaten since 5 that afternoon and it was close to midnight so I was starving. I popped into the Tabac Jean Bart to see if I could just get some frites and they said o.k. Wonderful people, they are! Noticed they had cidre on tap so ordered one of those as well. Ah, a perfect combination to end the day!! :D

FOOD MARKET
Just a little further west is a Supermarché at #115 rue St-Antoine.

WEB ACCESS
Akyrion (www.akyrion.com), a web bar just a 5-10 minute walk away at 19 rue Charlemagne, a street behind the St.-Paul-St.-Louis church that lies parallel to rue Saint Antoine and Quai des Céléstins.

MARCHÉ PLACE-ST-CATHERINE
At night I?d grab my CD player, sit on a bench in the Place-St-Catherine, smoke my cigs, listen to Coldplay & people-watch!! Sheer heaven!!!"

If you want predictably clean, efficient and pleasant but not especially "charming" you might consider the the Ibis Bastille Opera at 15 rue Breguet in the 11th. Rates are within you range, location is convenient. There are loads of other Ibis hotels in Paris but this one is my favorite. www.ibishotel.com

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, all of them were sold out due to the high season. I ended up increasing the target budget and am staying at the Jardin de Cluny in the Latin Quarter. I haven't found many reviews on it. Anybody know of it?

Although I didn't spend any time in the Latin Quarter when last I was there in 1998, the location of the hotel seems within walking distance to many sights on both the Left and Right Bank. (Or is the map's scale way off?) I am a New Yorker so walking a mile or 2 to get somewhere won't be a bother.

Now..to summon up the nerve to eat alone in restaurants and cafe's. Pep talks and suggestions are welcome! =)

I don't know the Jardin de Cluny, but it has a couple of good reviews on tripadvisor.com. I know the location, because I stayed right around the corner (at the Hotel du College de France) a couple of years ago, and you're right that you'll be able to walk from there to a lot of the sights. (I'm a fellow New Yorker, so I think I have some idea of what you'd consider a reasonable walk.)

As for eating alone, one suggestion you might consider is eating at a restaurant that has communal tables: that way, you won't stand out as a single diner, and the chances are good that you'll get into a conversation with someone who's eating next to you (which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how you feel about that kind of thing). Two restaurants I know of that have tables like that are Polidor, in the 6th, and Trumilou, in the 4th.

There have been several good threads on this board about traveling alone. Here are links to two of them, which you might want to take a look at if you feel like you need moral support:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...41&start=0

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...4&start=50