I am taking my daughter to Paris this summer for her 16th birthday. It is the first time either of us have been to Paris so we'll want to see all the major sights and my daughter wants to shop. We most likely won't be eating any fancy dinners so we want to be close to lots of reaonable bistros and cafes. In fact, her idea of a meal would be grabbing a crepe at a takeaway although I'm hoping to sit down to a meal once in awhile.... We are considering staying at the Hotel de L'Abbaye or the Henri IV Rive Gauche. Which location do you think we'd be happier with?

there have been lots of comments (good ones) about Henri IV lately. You can type it in the search field to see them. I stayed there with my husband, son and also my parents in Dec. '04. It is one block from the Seine and Notre Dame. We also like to eat more "street food" than anything so this was great because there was a sandwich stand next door and across the street were many greek restaurants where we got Gyros to go for 4e each. There's also a little market where you can get drinks and fresh fruit. I thought it was a great hotel. You will be directly across the gothic St. Severin church. Behind the hotel is one of the oldest churches in Paris, St. Julien le Pauvre.

ttt

kamark,

I looked at the location of the other hotel just now. It's is in a beautiful area, but with a 16 yr old I think the more lively tourist area of Hotel Henri is better. Hotel Henri may be a little less expensive as well.

Thank you Sandi. That confirms the impression I was getting. I'd like to be able to step out of the hotel into an 'active' area for my daughter (and Hotel Henri is less expensive although Hotel de l'Abbaye includes breakfast).

Make finding breakfast part of the fun. It'll be cheaper if you just find a cafe for bread and juice anyway. The cafes are all around you.

Kamark, I'm sorry to keep posting but have a couple of other things to tell you. Can you email me directly and I send you some add'l info about the hotel and the area if you'd like.

I'm at [email protected]