Paris - Where to stay?
 

Going to Paris in July...I hate staying in overtouristy places. Even though I realize that everywhere in Paris is probably overtouristy, I wonder if some locations are more popular with the locals, rather than American tourist. Maybe Montparnasse? Or St Germain?

Thanks

Sergey

Twice I used a hotel on Boulevard Raspail approximately south of the intersection with Boulevard Montparnasse. I did not feel the area was overly touristy.

Plenty of shops and restaurants along Montparnasse, particularly near the intersection with rue des Rennes.

The hotel was fairly small, typical Paris 3-star boutique type of hotel with a staff during the week who spoke passable to good English, if that is a concern.

Close to a couple of Metro lines.

Good (not great) bakery across the street. Good enough for our needs at any rate.

As I've never been to Paris, can you tell me how far it (walking) to some of the famous landmarks (Eiffel, Louvre, Invalides, Champs Elysse)?

I stayed in Montparnasse just a few eeks ago. Stayed at Hotel Royal Montparnasse. It wasn't "perfect" but I really liked the hotel AND the location. 212 Blvd. Raspail. Close to four metro stops: Edgar Quinet, Raspail, Vavins (sp), and Notre Dame des Champs AND the Montparnasse train staion. More like a neighborhood, lots of places to eat, a Franprix, INNO (Monoprix). Very safe neighborhood. I had stayed on Blvd. Haussmann my last trip...I liked that too, but this area was so different and I liked it so much better. I would stay there again.

Going in July, you will find many tourists...I avoid the summer months for that very reason...........

Since local folks don't normally reside in hotels in ANY city I suggest you stay in an area which interests you the most.

We just gave up a room at the d'Aubusson for four nights in July..stay there and enjoy being a tourist.

The most popular hotel area for locals and Europeans is along the Grands Boulevards and the surrounding area -- in other words, the big boulevards that run from Opéra to Place de la République and on to Place de la Bastille. If you want to avoid the largest concentrations of American tourists in July, you will avoid Saint Germain-des-Prés and the Marais.

Hi SS,

>can you tell me how far it (walking) to some of the famous landmarks...

Enter your addresses at www.mappy.com and change "express" to "pedestrian".

>Going to Paris in July...I hate staying in overtouristy places.....<

You will not be able to avoid tourists if you go during peak tourist season. :)

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

We stayed at the Hotel de la Port Doree and loved it! It's a family run hotel, near the Bois de Vincennes. It isn't a touristy area, it has many shops and markets, is a few minute walk to the nearest metro and the Port Doree Aquarium is there, as well as the (as mentioned above) lovely (and HUGE!) park.

We really like the 7th, it's not as overtouristy as the 5th or the 6th and this part of Paris gives me a feeling to be in Paris amongst the Parisians.
Check out Hotel Muguet (http://www.paris-hotel-muguet.com/index.html). We liked it very much, and it gets very good reviews on Trip Advisor.
Two big pro's of this small hotel are:
1) all rooms have A/C (essential in the summer!)
2) it's on a very quiet one-way street, a relief in this very busy city.

Going in July wasn't a choice, we have 2 occasions to celebrate that week. Besides I read that July/August are low-season as most people prefer March-June and Sept-Dec....not true?
In terms of hotel, I'm looking for something nice under the $200 threshold..preferably something for $150/night...not sure if thats possible for what I'm looking for though.

So in terms of neighborhood...I am seeing people suggesting Montparnasse a lot, and someone suggested the 7th district.

If you want to stay where there are fewer tourists,then consider the outer arrondissements of the 12th-17th or parts of the 19th-20th. The hotels and local shopkeepers will be intriqued as to how you 'found' them.

Paris may have a different 'low season' than is traditional elsewhere, due to the trades and conventions at certain times of the year.
I'd say, in terms of crowds, that Nov-Mar is low season, and April-Oct is mid-to-high season. July will be very hot and very crowded.
Prices for hotels are often lowered from July 15-Aug 31, and sometimes for winter but not over any holidays.

In October we stayed in the 17th. Nice hotel but it isn' air conditioned.
Hotel Monceau Wagram. Residential-ish sort of neighborhood. I guess I was the only American tourist there that someone would find offensive to be around.
Have you thought about an apartment?

Paris is a large city, and like any other major capital that is popular with tourists, the entire city is certainly not overtouristy. It's real easy not to be in an overtouristy area, just look at a Paris map and stay somewhere around the outer ring of arrondisements.

One should assume that any area right near the Seine with a lot of hotels would be touristy (eg, St Germain, which is a nontouristy area? It's one of the most touristy). Nontouristy areas don't have as many hotels, either. Areas more popular with locals would be those without a lot of hotels, no popular tourist attractions, and not any kitschy souvenir shops or cheap restaurants with touts outside trying to get you to come in (I've only seen those in St Germain and the Latin Qtr right near the Seine, actually).

I find the question rather curious that it singles out wanting areas that aren't popular with "American" tourists, in particular. What's that all about. So do you want to stay in an area popular with a lot of Japanese or Italian tourists? OVer near the Opera Garnier perhaps.

I think Montparnasse would fit all your needs. If possible, stay on the north side of Blvd. Montparnasse for maximum convenience. There are ample hotels yet it does not seem at all "touristy" like the neighborhoods much closer to the river.

Actualy I did not mean to be offensive, as I am from America as well. The reason I say American is because I find most tourists everywhere are American or British.

Thanks Bardo...that is what I am leaning towards. Hotel Royal looks good, from a previous post..and I will look into some more on tripadvisor and expedia/orbits.

SShprints,

Look at the Villa des Artistes. It is in the nicer part on Montparnasse and within your budget.

http://www.heart-of-paris-hotels.com...sartistes.htm#

I'd say that if you stayed in the 1st to 7th you would be in areas that have the most concentration of tourists, since that is the area with the most popular attractions. I've stayed twice in the 16th, once in an appartment, and once (3 weeks ago) at a hotel. I don't think I heard one english voice in all that time, or saw one person with a camera (tourist style). So that would qualify it as a "local" destination.

I enjoyed that aspect, since I could "pretend" I was living as a local, with "my" cafe, newspaper vendor,etc.. The only downside, and what would make me think that you would want to stay more central, is that you could not walk to any of the the things you would want to visit. So it's a Metro ride every day. If you stayed in the 4th or 6th, you could conceivably walk to many of the sites you wanted to see, and be around a lot more restaurants.

As an example, I've stayed on Ile St Louis, which is in the 4th. Easy walk to Notre Dame, Left Bank, Marais,etc..Nice shops, good restaurants, but touristy during the day.

I've stayed near Jardin des Plantes, in the 5th. No tourists, some university students, one block to the Seine, 15 min walk to ND, plenty of good restaurants.

Also stayed at Place St Michel. Busy place, but I could walk across the street and be at ND in 5 mins.

So...stay in 8-20th if you want to avoid most tourists, but be aware that you can stay more central, and still be away from the masses at night.

In the end, I guess it all depends on how you want to spend your days and nights. I'll generalize..ff you want to rent an appt, shop at local markets, go to a cafe, local small restuarants, then consider the outlying areas. If you want to spend your days going to the tourist locations, inner arrondisments, may be better in order to reduce travel times, with the planning done to find a hotel in those areas that may be away from the main streets/attractions.

The lowest season of the year for Paris hotels is August (followed by February).
It is really extremely easy to find a hotel in Paris for less than 100 €.
Just take a look at the hotels by arrondissement on www.pagesjaunes.fr (the Yellow Pages - English version available by clicking on the flag) and follow up the ones that look promising with Trip Advisor. Hotels in Paris are an absolute breeze.
But my own idea would be to look for one of the dozens of hotels around rue du Faubourg Montmartre (which is not in Montmartre!) -- extremely authentic area with a zillion restaurants, since, as I said earlier, it is part of the area preferred by European tourists.

Since I live in Paris, it is difficult for me to recommend a specific hotel.

yes I do believe you are correct..since i only have 3 days, I think its smarter to be in the center of town.
Bardo sent me a good site, so I'm going through all the hotels looking for the perfect one.

Ok, so I'm considering these hotels..has anyone ever heard of any of these? They are all in the Latin Qt except 1.

Residence de Arts
Abbatial Saint Germain
Dacia Luxembourg
California Saint
Moderne Saint Germain
Saint Paul Rive Gauche
Sully Saint Germain
A La Villa de Artistes

I just got back from Paris; we rented an apartment through parisperfect.com. It was so much fun coming back every night and seeing the Eiffel tower all lit up right in front of the living room and bedroom windows. The apartment had all of the necessities we needed to enjoy our stay. There was an espresso/coffee maker with coffee, hair dryer, a washer and dryer, CD player with CD’s, DVD player, books on Paris, wireless Internet access and much more. We received a nice bottle of champagne, orange juice and milk upon our arrival. The Paris Perfect staff checked in with us throughout our visit to make sure we were comfortable and happy with the apartments. The beds were extremely comfortable and the showers were terrific. The neighborhood was one of the best parts of our vacation, we ate at several local restaurants and we enjoyed the market place on Rue Cler. There were several wonderful Patisseries within steps of our apartment. The metro stop was close by and living among the local Parisians in an affluent French neighborhood was fabulous. You can't go wrong with Paris Perfect, because it is just that, "Paris Perfect"!

Debra, which apartment did u book?

The rates look far from perfect to me.

SShprints,

You might want to start a new thread and put the hotel names in the subjuct. If you want to stay in the Latin Quarter then leave off A La Villa de Artistes - I had suggested that because you earlier said you wanted a place away from lots of tourists. Also check the rates on the actual hotel websites to see if they are in your budget before you re-post a new thread. I have heard good things about the Residence des Arts and like the location but it starts at $248 (190 Euro) per night.

SShprints,

parisperfect is a LUXURY apartment rental service and as a result cost more than most other Paris apartment rental agencies. They are probably also over your budget.

Yikes! Sorry. I saw the the views of the Eiffel and forgot to check the price :) although the very last one is 142 euro.

Residence de Arts is on a sale for the days I'm going, its 165 euro..just a tad above my budget.

You can't beat the loation of the Residence des Arts and the rooms look lovely. You might want to go ahead and book - you have plenty of time between now and July to change if you find something better in the future.

I assume you are talking about this place?:

http://www.hotelresidencedesartsparis.com

yes your right so I booked it...but will continue looking for something cheaper, since I'd rather find something in the $150 range.

Sergey, I'll be staying at the Residence with my family in July as well. I chose it because of the convenient location. Close to plenty of busses, the metro station also very close (weI'll be walking mostly, but with the kids, busses are easier to get when going from point A to B). And they offer apartments with kitchinettes, which was the main reason why I booked it.

However, the location is extremely touristy-- Saint Germain, at the border of the Latin Quarter.

I'd suggest you to have a look at:

Jardin de l'Odeon, and Hotel Sainte Beuve. The Sainte Beuve is nearly at the border Sant-Germain/Montparnasse, but still in Saint Germain, and is an excellent 3 stars. The Jardin de l 'Odeon is close to the Northern section of Jardin de Luxambourg.

http://www.hotelsaintebeuveparis.com/index.html

http://www.hoteljardinodeonparis.com/

Beware, as some rooms at Jardin de l'Odeon are not air conditioned, although most of the rooms are.

thanks for the great suggestion, but the reason I changed my mind about staying in a more touristy area is because it's my firt time in Paris and I ony have 3 days, therefore I want to be as close to all the attractions as possible.
I am also considering Abbastial Saint Germain because it's cheaper. I am not too picky with hotels: it needs to be clean, good location and in JULY-MUST have AC.

the Abbatial looks like a good choice... there are some 'candid' photos on Tripadvisor - one looks like a single room...
Their internet rate for a single is 115-119€.
http://www.abbatial-paris-hotel.com/

Depending on your dates, there are some July prices for a single at 93-108€ on this site: (it's just a go-between w/ the hotel)
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005abbatial.htm

The summer promos usually start at/after July 15.

In your price range---and now that you've changed your mind about location---I would definitely include Hotel Bonaparte. Plenty of reviews here and on TripAdvisor.com.

The location couldn't be more perfect, right in the heart of Saint-Germain, about a 10 min walk to the river, and 3 metro lines nearby. (We use the bus and there's a major hub at Saint Sulpice right around the corner.) They have a/c and, one of my favorites, they bring your breakfast tray to the room. It's nice to have coffee as soon as you wake up. The staff is always friendly and helpful with bus/metro schedules and restaurant recs.

We've stayed there several times and love the place. A double runs about 140 euros.

urgh..so many choices :)
I am not traveling alone, so I'm looking for a double.
Thanks,
Sergey

Hi S.

I stay at different hotels every trip to Paris and have stayed at both the Residence and the Abbatial and liked both. If price is not significant I'd go with the Residence. They have kitchenettes and you could make coffee, sandwiches, etc. It's on a small, quiet street steps from the Seine and the bridge to Notre Dame. We could look out our window and see the spires of Ste Chapelle. There is a very good, and reasonable restaurant Cafe Latin adjoining the building and an Irish Pub across the street. (At least they were theer a few years ago) Most of the other buildings on the street are residential with studios on the ground floor. I think it's on the edge of St. Germain, not in the midst of it.

The Abbatial is on Blvd. St. Germain, which is fine, but if you book there ask for a room at the back to avoid the street noise.

Of the two, I prefer the location of the Residence but the Abbatial is a close second. You'll be fine with either.

The last post reminded me: if you inquire at the Bonaparte ask for a higher-up room on the street. Noise won't be a problem. There is a small elevator.