Woodyca, For your first trip, think about staying right in the city centers, I really think you will enjoy it more. It makes life so much simpler. There are plenty of inexpensive Paris hotels. Do a search here. I've done both staying a little outside of town and right in the center. In my opinion the center is best, you'll not only save time, but you'll have less fustration. Ask for hotel advice if you want. Just think about it, especially with a family.

janisj - as is typical with people of a certain level of intelligence, you interpret my neutral statement of fact as advocating a position. Read it again: <i>There is nothing wrong with staying 10-15 minutes from the city center.</i> I said nothing about what I thought the OP was doing, only implied that their plan would probably work better if they <u>didn't</u> commute from some out-of-the way precinct.

htt, did you read my post?

Notre Dame is <b><u>SIX</u></b> minutes further from Antony (outside the peripheral) as from &Eacute;cole Militaire (a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower) - 25 as opposed to 19. Don't you think first-time visitors would enjoy their sojourn more if they could stay in a much nicer hotel, even if it's a little further out?

I really think that for the first time its easiet and you enjoy it more in the center. When you are in the middle you can just walk around and spend more time above ground rather than under. One time we got a great deal at La Defense, it was about $59 a night, one very easy train ride. It was just time consuming and during the evenings and weekends it was dead, nice room, nice staff, but I just hated it. I think the joy of Paris is in the neighborhoods. However my husband would disagree and would take whatever is cheapest. I have never been to Antony, so I can't compare, but if it were me I would choose the center.

Last summer our family of 9 spent 3 days in each City with the EuroStar in between (quicker than flying since it goes city center to city center). I'm glad we did both, as they are a nice contrast and each offers something different given the time it takes to get to Europe. I'd have loved a day or two more in each City, but even 3 days was enough to get quite a bit done without killing ourselves (note, we started in Paris, and I did not notice having to pay $80 per person, unless it was built into one of the ticket prices (quite possible)).

Paris is much more managable and small. While the language issue was a barrier, it was not insurmountable. Most people were friendly and helpful and spoke enough english to get by provided you politely began the conversation with &quot;parlee vous ingles?&quot; (I'm sure no word there is spelled correctly, but you get my drift). It also helped, I think, that we were there in early August, when there were probably more tourists than locals. In some ways, I think London was more stressful, just because it is a major city like New York, rather than Paris, which has a smaller &quot;old city&quot; area with most of what you want to see and do. It was actually more managable.

I think that the idea of picking one or the other and adding either some day trips outside the city or a second, closer 2nd area has a lot of merit too. Depending on the season, you might enjoy Nice or Bath or someother coastal town for 2-3 days, or Eurodisney, perhaps, for a break.

Incidently, our family was split on which of the two cities they liked more.. The split was random and not based on sex or age (and we had from 15 years old to 70 on that trip). I personally think that for a shorter trip, Paris is better and certainly more quaint, but for a longer trip, London offers more. I'll certainly be returning to each!

Lastly, at least in London, the cabs can seat 5-6 people, so unless you are taking a lot of subway rides where the 1 or 3 day pass makes sense, we found the cab ride was actually cheaper than taking the subway for 4 or 5 of us, and they got you door to door. With Paris, we did a bus and metro here and there, but most times we just walked.

The $80 UK ripoff only started this year.

I guess I haven't explained this so everyone can understand it.

<b>Rue Cler - a favorite neighborhood for newbies to stay - is the same distance to the sights as much better accommodations outside the city.</b> It isn't necessary to spend any more time under ground to live much better further from the tourist meccas. I don't live cheap - but I get more for my $200 a night than I could <u>possibly</u> hope for close to the city center.

When I step out of my hotel, I'm in <i>France</i> (so the highly-prized ambiance is there), and I'm 41 minutes from Pigalle. When you're at Rue Cler, Montmartre is 27 minutes away. Is that a big difference to you?

&lt;&lt;&lt; The $80 UK ripoff only started this year. &gt;&gt;&gt;

Yes it only used to be $40