cigalechanta

Poilane still make their breads on wood fired ovens.
When the father was alive (the daughrer runs the operation now) He wouild give you a look at the downstairs oven.Unfortunately he his wife and dog died in his planethst
crashed

cigalechanta

http://www.poilane.fr/pages/en/compa...s_demarche.php

Michel_Paris

back to a hotel...

http://www.hotelnotredameparis.com/pages/rates.html

I stayed at this one a while back, it has been refreshed since. Prime location, you are across street from RER station to airport, you could ($) have a view of sundsets over Notre Dame (we stayed in loft). Busy street in front, but our room had no noise.

Easy walk to multitude of restaurants, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Ile St Louis, Blvd St germain...right there. Couple minutes walk to Seine cruise. Across street, bouquinistes selling their old prints, books.

For breakfast we crossed over to Ile de la Cite and had it on patio of cafe in front of Justice building.

kelsey22

I almost gave up the trip based on that one post! I did have an "unfortunate" incident way back when so I am a little apprehensive to begin with! I will take the other fodorites word for it and assume that it is safe (using my good judgement and my city savvy as my guide). One post asked how old I was - I am in my late forties. I am not interested in the night life per se. I would like to be able to be as central as possible for the evening strolls. I love to people watch, visit galleries, perhaps do a cooking course, take a couple of day trips and soak up as much as I can of the city. I prefer to take a slow travel approach than run from sight to sight. I am an avid reader and would like to take some literary strolls.

That is me in a nutshell. Thank you to all the fodorites. My last trip was amazing and I owe a lot to the people who took the time to answer all my queries.

suze

I check out the immediate area by daylight, and figure out places near-ish my hotel that I would be comfortable walking after dark. I don't go out aimlessly.

Something in the 4th thru the 7th fits what you seek. Look at a map of Paris. The arrondisement numbers go like a snail, with one being the center, then spiraling outward. Another tip is the last two digits of the address/postal code give you the arrondisement number, helpful when you're reviewing hotels.

Nikki

Don't give up! Many women on this website have written excellent trip reports about their solo trips to Paris. They inspired me to take my own solo trip in my fifties and I have gone back and done it a few times now.

Walking alone at night is not a problem in any of the areas I have stayed, which include the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 17th arrondissements. I'm going back next month for a stay in the 11th. So far, I've liked them all. Looking forward to trying a new neighborhood.

denisea

Paris is very safe and I always feel comfortable.

When we were there a few months ago, my husband got sick so I spent a lot of time, day and night, out alone. No worries. I am 46 and agree that the 7th feels more residential. I liked it but really love the Odeon area of the 6th. Odeon metro station is convenient, bus lines also right there, great cafes, great patisseries. There are lots of hotels in the area. Take a look at Hotel Louis II.

Enjoy!

justineparis

Well I am in your age group,, I walk around at night( what does that traveller do go to bed at 7pm?????) it is fine in most areas that tourists are in,, I found that silly remark very ,, well, silly.

I think that when one is alone an area that is very residental feels a bit deserted at night to walk alone, I prefer to be around others wandering around, so 4th , 5th and 6th.

And , the area around Rue Du Rivoli,, well I stayed there once, its boring , lined with tacky tourist shops, over priced cafes, and I had trouble finding reasonable places to eat.

klondiketoo

<I think that when one is alone an area that is very residental feels a bit deserted at night to walk alone, I prefer to be around others wandering around, so 4th , 5th and 6th.>

Agree, with a personal preference for the 6th for a solo woman. There are lots of people out in the streets even late into the night. Also, the closer the hotel is to a metro stop helps my comfort level, as usually that means you don't have a lot of dark alleys to walk through to get there.

ROLF: "Balderdash"!

RM67

''My solo stays have usually been in the Passy area in the 16th,''

Snap - me too.

It's a bit more out of the way, and quite quiet at night, but I really like it.

FoFoBT

Some parts of it are very quiet, but I tend to stay near the Place Victor Hugo. For me, that location isn't out of the way. The metro and bus stops are close by and it's an easy walk to the Trocadero or the Asian arts museum (Guimet) and there's a variety of restaurants and cafes open fairly late.