I rarely drink tap water at home, so it is habit that I drink only bottled water. Coke etc is expensive.

Lauralue9, I had breakfast at the Caf&eacute; de la Mairie last trip, April 2003. I picked up a round loaf of walnut bread from Poil&acirc;ne (and picked up a linen bag for our CigaleChanta) and consumed it with my grand caf&eacute; creme for breakfast. Alternatively, there is the Gerard Mulot around the corner on rue de Seine. This has a wonderful view of the fountains and of the fat belfries of St-Sulpice. This was also a favored haunt of Henry Miller and he mentions this caf&eacute; is <u>Tropic of Cancer</u>.

Fodor's also mentions that Catherine Deneuve lives in this area and she is sometimes spotted crossing the square early morning.

I would not recommend the kids drink Coke in Paris. In one caf&eacute; (admittedly in a very touristy section of Montmartre) I spent $6 for a Coke. HOWEVER, this would be an excellent opportunity to notice cultural differences. They could try the different flavors of Fanta which is popular in Europe or Orangina, my personal fave.

Tap water will be fine. Just ask for un carafe d'eau (&quot;doh&quot;). One restaurant I went to last year, La Boulangerie in the 20th, served their tap water in beautiful, tall, blue bottles.

Or you could do like I did and take advantage of the Wallace Fountains in Paris. There's about 70 of them all around Paris. I never noticed these green-painted fountains the 1st 2 trips but took a list with me last trip and had a lot of fun finding them. Just fill up your water bottle. Water is perfectly safe. I have a list (have I said that somewhere before??;)) if you'd like to e-mail me.

Or get your water refilled from your hotel's bathroom faucet-true, it's good. :)

Hi Beatchick,
How did you like La Boulangerie? it's in an interesting area I might go back to on my next trip.

When your kids complain that the problem with France is there is so much French food..head on over to the 11th to WOK. This is a very fun place where one can build their own bowl of noodles(it's around 15 euros/pp). You might also check out Chez Omar and L' Homme Bleu. Chez Omar(North African) is in the 3rd and pretty relaxed. L'homme bleu is in the 11th(Berber food and frankly more atmosphere).

Quotidien is a good suggestion for breakfast and for lulnch. They do have soups and salads which might also fill up those teens.

Lunch in the cafe at the D'orsay is reasonable. The restaurant can be pricey by comparison.

Reasonalbe prices can be found at Astier in the 11th(show them a bistro) and L'avant Gout in the 13th. We were not so taken by the food at L'avant Gout but the place is packed and does have a great feel. Lunch is $12.50 euros(marche menu) and you can order a variety of items from the 30 euro prix fixe menu.
Try Chez Marianne on Rue Rosier(the Marais) and the Falafel place right down the street. You can also get falafel to go at Chez Marianne at the window. It's middle eastern food and pretty good. It's a pretty fun scene as well.
There is a brasserie on Rue Moufettard(sorry I can't remember the name but it is in Patricia Wells book but it is definitely not touristy). You will sit shoulder to shoulder with the French including students and have some pretty good food as well. You should check out Rue Mouffetard anyway with your kids. It's a fun place.
Your kids might also be interested in Cafe d'Industrie in the 11th. It has reasonable food and is frequented by the &quot;young&quot;.
If your teens eat shellfish..hurry on over to La Mascotte in Montmarte for either lunch or dinner. This is a gem(it means charm) of a place. You can get platters of prawns(crevettes),crab. oysters and every other item du mer. 22 Rue des Abbesses. We went for both lunch and dinner. It was really crowded at dinner on a weekend. We hit it initially for lunch after visiting Sacre Coeur. We were&quot;charmed&quot; indeed.

Have a great trip! What lucky kids!

I did, Keren! It was very nice. Besides those blue bottles they had murals painted on the walls ~ pretty. Here're some comments from my trip report:
&quot;<u>La Boulangerie</u>
I dashed out to the 20th to La Boulangerie at 15, rue des Panoyaux for my last evening meal in Paris. This would be a nice spot to hit after an afternoon at P&egrave;re Lachaise being only 5-10 minutes walk north of it. Dinner did not disappoint: 1 house cocktail, gaspacho tomates (somehow I?m just very leery of gazpacho in Paris, but honey, it was good!), selle agneau, ? carafe of house wine, un carafe d?eau in a lovely blue wine bottle, moelleux chocolat for dessert followed by caf&eacute; (I miss the caf&eacute;) totaling to 38&euro;. Good deal!! For the curious, the website is www.restaulaboulangerie.com. For reservations, dial 01 43 58 45 45. Cute little place &amp; I was the only non-French person there (always a good sign). For you night owls out there, a very hip bar is nearby, Caf&eacute; Charbon at 109 r. Oberkampf.&quot;

Keren, the 20th is an interesting area; I wish I'd spent more time there. I really should have gone to Caf&eacute; Charbon. It's still getting great write-ups.

Ah Cafe Charbon. This was right down from our apartment while renting in Paris in 98. It was quite the scene. I leaned across the table at one point and mentioned to my darling that we were only people not smoking. The reply was&quot;Who cares, but we are the absolutely oldest people here!&quot;
A turning point in both our &quot;what happened&quot; lives:)

Just curious...are you staying at Hotel le Clement? That's where I stay. Happy Travels!

I am so glad lauralue started this thread. Tbe 6th is my absolute favorite, but this trip I'll need some kid friendly places and lots have been mentioned here. Great!

Yes, we are staying at the Hotel Clement. They have a quad room and we are willing to camp out. Keep seeing lots of positive comments on Trip Advisor. What were your experiences?

Great location. I've been going to Paris for vacation almost annually since 1976 and staying in the 6th since 1981 and I love the location of the Clement. I used to stay at the Hotel de Seine....on rue de Seine for 9 years...but after the renovation of 1990-1991,it went from US$50. a night to about $US135...so I moved to the Welcome Hotel down the street...very noisy... As for the rooms at the Clement, I was there a few months ago, they are very small. Don't get a room at the back of the hotel or you'll have a view of a cement wall outside. Ask for a room at the front of the hotel. The Marche St. Germain is directly across the street where there's small grocers to buy fruit, water, etc. Or just go up on rue de Seine and there's plenty of food to be had. You can eat breakfast at the cafe on the corner of rue de Seine and Blvd. St Germain. I've eaten breakfast and lunch there and it's good food. There are a lot of choices in that area.There are plenty of restaurnats on the rue Gregoire de Tours...just up the street. Oku Japanese restaurant is very reasonable. I eat there regularly for lunch and dinner...there are tons of other places...the whole street is a restaurant street. Happy Travels!

'''''

Guenmai, I had the same experience with the Welcome Hotel years ago; unbelievable noise from the Blvd. all night long. It used to be owned by same people as Des Marronniers on rue Jacob, certainly a cut above, but much more expensive; wonder if they still own it?

Crepes, I may sound like a broken record, but have you thought about the Hotel du Lys for your family trip? www.hoteldulys.com

We had a triple on the front at Hotel Clement in February which had a great view of St. Sulpice. We had to turn off the heat in our room it was so hot, but otherwise we had a most enjoyable stay. We always go to Paul's. It's an enjoyable little walk and if you tip something for service the first morning, you won't have any trouble getting excellent service the following days. Also, you don't mention how long you are staying, but their is a convenient laundromat on the other side of the Marche St. Germain that is easy to get to.

Klondike, thank you so much for info about the laundry. As mentioned, there will be 4 of us staying for 8 days in Paris and then on to London, so lots of dirty laundry. I have been worrying about how to get clothes cleaned and you have helped tremendously! This is a great service and we appreciate all the Fodorites sharing their experiences.

If you are going to Pauls for breakfast on Buci/Seine there is a laudromat on Seine about three doors down on the left. I have been known to put a load in and go have a bite to eat at Pauls, or a drink at the corner bar, go back and put it in the dryer and return for another drink while it dries, killing two birds with one stone.

Also on Rue Seine there is a great sandwich place for your kids, called Cosi. You pick the ingredients and they then grill it, italian style panini...good salads too, cheap.

My wife went to Wadja during a business trip and raves, raves, raves. FWIW, Patricia Wells is very repected in the foodie community.

I have not eaten at any places on your list. I have had coffee or drinks at Caf&eacute; de Flore and Brasserie Lipp: both very pricy due to location only. You'll find much better value on the side streets.

To Grandmere...Yes the Welcome Hotel is VERY noisy. I stayed there for years due to the low cost in comparison to other hotels in the area. It, I was told, is owned by the same family who owns the hotel on rue Jacob, that you mentioned, and also the Hotel de Seine where I lived for 9 years...before this family took over...I met the owner some years ago...not the most impressive of people to say the least...so I decided to shop around and have now moved to Hotel Le Clement across from the Marche St. Germaine. One of my best friends, in Paris, managed the Welcome and one day I asked her to just walk around with me to various hotels in the area so that I could choose a new hotel...so since she knew lots of the hotel managers in the area, they let me look at whatever rooms I wanted to.So we spent half a day shopping for me a new place. Happy Travels!

We spend most of our time in the 16th arrond rather than the 6th, but there are a few restaurants we like over that way. Most of them cater to a French crowd, so they will not be open early for your teens...but perhaps they would enjoy snacking around the rue Cler or the Place St. Michel--the Rose de Tunis right by the Place St. Michel on the rue St. Andre des Arts makes GREAT fries, either eat there or take away. And of course there are plenty of snack places along that street for crepes, hot dogs, pizza slices, etc.
Anyway, our 6th arrond. restaurant recs include:
Kala Hathi, 3 rue du Sabot (Indian, contemporary), www.kalahathi.com
Le Christine, 1 rue Christine (urban bistro style, set 3-course menu about $40 pp)
and
La Marlotte, 55 rue du Cherche Midi (pretty bistro, a little more expensive than the other two restaurants listed above), www.lamarlotte.com
I don't *think* any of these were listed above and I don't see them noted in most English language guidebooks but they have been reviewed well in French magazines (Elle Deco, etc.)
If you get over to the 7th, our two favorite restaurants are
Lei, 17, ave de La Motte-Picquet, (urban, Italian, nice contemporary decor). Another place liked in French magazines but not in English language tour guides
Kniaz Igor, Ave de la Bourdonnais (Russian, Belle Epoque decor, live music, open very late, very popular with Russian expats, diplomatic crowd from Eastern Europe, journalists, 3 course set menu about $35), www.kniaz-igor.com A Fodorite recently celebrated her 30th birthday there and reported having an excellent time.

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