Barb

I am planning a surprise trip to Paris for our tenth anniversary but know nothing about the city! We would much prefer an artsy section of the city with great cafes and museums. Help!

Shannon

Wow! Good for you in planning such a great surprise. The artsy section of Paris is really everywhere, but lots of artists gather in Monmatre. Great views and the Sacre Coeur is wonderful too. There are too many wonderful museums in Paris to mention, but my personal favorites are the Louvre and the Orsay (of course) but also the Marmottan, Orangerie and the Rodin museum. I would consider staying near the Louvre or in the Marais. In addition to Notre Dame don't miss the Sainte Chapelle!

Christina

I'm not clear on what your question is, where you should stay? Well, I'll tell you the current artsy section of Paris is not where most hotels are, nor museums, or where you probably want to stay, in terms of where artists live and work (parts of the 13th near the new library, parts of the 11th arr amd even the 12th, and the suburb Montreuil, for example). But, there are expensive art galleries and stuff in St-Germain, that might be your best overall bet, it is close to lots of museums and has lots of cafes. Historically, other parts of Paris are much more artsy, so that's another way to look at it--Montparnasse in particular in this century, and Montmartre in the last century. Monparnasse has great cafes and is closer to things than Montmartre. So, it really depends what you are looking for in the artsy area and how historical, etc. I would suggest you first get a good guidebook to Paris and read the sections describing the various parts of the city and you will get a feel for where you might want to stay. Central Paris is fairly walkable and small in size so whereever you stay, you will not be that far from museums and there are cafes everywhere. If you don't want to buy a guidebook yet, you can get good overview city information on neighborhoods on many travel websites like this one (www.fodors.com, www.frommers.com, www.roughguides.com and www.timeout.com are all good).

Barb

Christina and Shannon, <BR> <BR>Thanks to both of you. At least I have somewhere to start.

LOVE2TRVL

Hi Barb: <BR>What a great treat!!! I personally like the Montparnesse section of Paris...plenty of great cafes and a whole lot of places to stay...The metro and bus terminal are right there on Rue de Maine and you can get anywhere in Paris by metro or bus. One of my favorite museums is the D'Orsay. It is located in a renovated Railroad Station...beautiful building and wonderful art!!! I have stayed at LeMerdian Montparnesse..elegant but not too romantic...& Artemis San Germain.. it is very French..Quaint and charming and the breakfast was terrific...Have a wonderful trip!!

Bob Brown

There are several truths about Paris. <BR>1. There are quite a few good museums that you can visit. <BR>2. The city is full of good 3-star hotels. There are so many in fact that I doubt if most of the people who give such vehement hotel recommendations have <BR>styaed in more than 3 or 4 of them at the most. <BR>I have stayed in 3 and hardly consider myself an expert. <BR>3. Paris is easy to get around in as big cities go. The bus system and the Metro will take you to within 500 yards of any place within a few minutes. <BR> <BR>I have several of my own perferences, but those are just that: my preferences. <BR>I can tell you where I have stayed, if you wish. <BR> <BR>Because of the above facts about Paris, and the fact that this is something of a special occasion, I think you should select a nice hotel. Make that your first priority. Whether or not you want to pay 4-star prices I don't know. <BR>But, there are quite a few very nice 3-star hotels to review while making your selection. Part of the problem is that they all look good in the pictures you see on the web. <BR>The most comprehensive hotel guide on the web that I know of is located at this URL: <BR>http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/75paccue.htm <BR>If you access this site, you will notice that you need to pick one of the Arrondissements. These are political subdivisions of Paris. Each has its own character and charm, or lack thereof. Many people who contribute to this forum cite hotels in the 7th Arr, the 6th Arr. , and the 5th. The 7th is close to the Eiffel Tower and Hotel Invalides. The 6th stretches over to the Luxembourg Gardens and as far south as Boulevard Montparnasse. The 5th is the so called Latin Quarter because it is close to the universities. It also includes the Jardin des Plantes. <BR>After my several visits, I think the important point is to pick a hotel near transportation that you will enjoy. <BR>Hotel rooms in Paris tend to be small, so don't be surprised if you end up with something that has rooms about half that of a Hampton Inn or a Fairfield Inn King Suite. <BR>If you do a search on this forum you will find many, many different opinions on where to go and where to stay. I considered many of them, and then made my own choices. I urge you to do the same. I would suggest, however, that unless you are going in February or March that you start making reservations now because the better places seem to stay full. Good luck in your planning. <BR>

elaine

Barb, <BR>I stayed in the Montparnasse area during my first trip to Paris. There is quite a literary history there, but I found it too far from the center of things for my preferences. I would suggest the <BR>5th, 6th, or 7th arrondissements. <BR>I have a pretty extensive Paris computer file. If you would like to see it, email me. <BR>good luck