Parisian hotel location recommendation needed please
 

We're planning to take our children (11 & 15) to Paris in early April. Considering the Novotel Suites Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris' 14th arrondissement. We find staying outside of city centers appeals to the kids, but the Metro is a very short distance from the hotel. Any negatives we haven't thought of? Many thanks in advance!

If you want a sneak peek at the hotel surroundings, look it up on Google street view. I see you are only a 10 min walk from a park, Georges-Brassens, and there is a supermarket and small restaurants in the area. On the downside, there is also a busy boulevard close by. You pays your money, you takes your choice, as they say.

I've stayed about a mile or so to the northeast of your hotel, closer to Gare Montparnasse, in the 15th near the border of the 14th, and we were about a 25 - 30 minute commute by metro to places like the Louvre/Picasso museums. You will be a bit further than this. Generally as you no doubt have found, the compensation is that prices are a little softer if one stays a little further out, also one is definitely more residential and less tourist centred. The suites look like a good family place to stay, maybe you could consider posting back afterward to relate your experience of them. Enjoy your trip.

Just curious - why does staying outside city centers appeal to the kids? Especially when it can seriously limit what you can do after a day of sightseeing. And makes you spend an hour or so a day on boring public transportation when you could be walking and enjoying the sights.

Your call, of course.

"And makes you spend an hour or so a day on boring public transportation when you could be walking and enjoying the sights."

While I almost always agree with StCirq, I'm going to express another view on this particular issue. I, too, enjoy staying out of the center and almost always consider riding a variety of transport opportunities every bit as entertaining as the destination. So I don't agree that that hour will be boring. I like to see where people live, not just where the tourists are and out-of-the-way local restaurants may see few tourists and especially a family will be recognized & welcomed back on repeat visits. I think the children in particular would enjoy that. I always do.

I understand all your reasons for staying outside of the city center, but unfortunately the area of this hotel is blocked by RR tracks on the west, a very busy boulevard on the north and stadiums to the east. I think you can do better. On the plus side, the tram is out the door and your kids would enjoy that.

Good for your kids if staying outside of city centers appeals to them. They’ll make excellent travellers.

We took our kids to Paris at around the same ages as yours (several trips, at varying ages). We all (including our kids) liked staying as close to the site we wanted to see as possible. Also, being closer to our hotel, so we could stop in for a break, usually before dinner, was helpful to all of us.

While I agree that public transportation is entertaining and provides a slice of local life, and I prefer taking it in cities (when we're not walking), I personally would hate to have one hour or more of my precious vacation time, each day, be spent on the metro or a train. Obviously, that's a matter of personal preference, so poll your group.

And while one of my kids was an early riser, the other one was not. So with a hotel near the Seine, me and the early riser (or just me) could head out for a morning run or walk, visit to a patisserie or simply time at a cafe while my spouse slept in, along with the sleepy kid. You could obviously do that outside of the city center as well, it's just that your views would be different.

I totally get the idea of staying in a less convenient location if it allows you to book a suite instead of two seperate rooms which will save a lot of money. Plus some parents worry about their kids being in a separate room. The specifics of this location don't look that appealing to me, but at least you know what you're getting into.

I would prefer to get the suite at Hotel Delambre near Montparnasse, but that will cost a bit more.

Another negative is the metro #13 which does not go to central Paris requiring you to change lines most likely at Gare Montparnasse a very busy and confusing metro stop. You could take the tram to the Porte d'Orleans stop of the #4 metro but that would require double tickets as tram tickets do not transfer to metro lines.

The kids might enjoy the tramway, but Envierges has a good point.
Construction and railroad tracks might not be a good idea, when you come home tired at night.

I'd suggest the Ibis Paris Alesia, or the Hotel de la Paix Montparnasse. Both are convenient to the Metro.

Your kids might enjoy being near the Luxembourg Gardens - a very large park that families enjoy.

I really like the SuiteNovotel chain, and your location seems fine to me. The family should particularly enjoy using the T3 tramway line which goes to a number of interesting areas and which gives you a view of everything in between. You can also take the T2 tramway line which starts at Porte de Versailles and follows the "non touristy" Seine in the suburbs. Get off at La Défense, which the kids will love.

<i>Another negative is the metro #13 which does not go to central Paris</i>

Please verify all of the "information" that you are told here. Metro line 13 does not go anywhere near Porte de Versailles, but metro line 12 is there and it <b>does</b> go to central Paris (Musée d'Orsay, Concorde, Madeleine) and also serves Montmartre.

Kerouac

The Hotel OP is talking about although named Novotel Suites Paris Expo Porte de Versailles is at the Porte de Vanves. Check it out. I did.

And here's the website

https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel...ction-location

I have 2 young children and in May we are staying in the 5th arrondissement at l’Hôtel des Grandes Écoles, about 10 min from the Luxembourg gardens. The center of Paris is wonderful for children. I don’t understand why you want to stay in the outskirts. Commuting every day to me is stressful. Walking charming neighborhoods is not.

"I don’t understand..."

Indeed. I find neighborhoods crowded with my fellow tourists stressful, not charming. We all have our preferences and to assume yours are best for everyone is, well, not something I understand.

I never understand travelers who go to a city only to make themselves into daily commuters from the edge to center and back. Except for the lines at tourist sites, Paris is not a tourist-packed city; it's too big for that. Can you find a suitable place in the Fifth Arrondissement, putting you near the university with the resulting young local crowd and within walking distance of many tourist sites?

Thank you all for the advice! After looking more closely at the previously mentioned hotel, we're considering the Novotel Paris Centre Gare Montparnasse. A little closer to city centre but on a quiet street. We find the kids like to decompress after a day in a sizeable city. We live in NC with a lot of green space & city life & all of its stimuli can get overwhelming for tired kids (even when we travel to NY). We do enjoy getting a bit away after an amazing day of sight seeing & do enjoy experiencing how locals live & get around. I understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea but knowing what works well for us is valuable! Any thoughts on the above mentioned hotel/area by chance? Many thanks!

That certainly wouldn't be a place I could easily "decompress" in, but yes, it's central. Not a whole lot of locals living and getting around, either - mostly people going to and from the gare I would guess.