Aditya

Hi... <BR> I wanted to experience all of Paris neighboorhood as much as I can and thought of staying in different hotels throughout my holiday (ie. two nights per hotels) Does anyone thinks this is bad idea?.... <BR> And to compare Paris in size...how big is it like...New York?.. I am very familiar with NY's size and i imagine Paris to be this size... Is it much larger?... <BR> Your help would be much appriciated. <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Aditya

Myriam

I personally don't think that it's a good idea to stay in different hotels. First of all Paris is a fairly small city and public transport (bus, metro) can take you in a few minutes from one side of the city to the other. Secondly I don't like the idea of packing and unpacking when it is not really necessary. <BR>

elaine

Aditya <BR>Paris is definitely not as large as New York. I don't know if I am geographically precise, but it feels to me more like Boston, at least in the sense that the center of town is quite walkable in scope and easy and quicker to transverse by public transport than New York or London is. <BR>I also would not want to pack and unpack every couple of days, not to mention the time lost in checking in, waiting for one's room to be ready, etc. <BR>I don't know how long you're staying, but I would recommend changing once at most if you want to compare, for example, the right bank to the left. <BR>However, the other advice is excellent. <BR>Paris is easy enough to travel and walk in, and depending on how much time you have you can cover a lot of ground in a short time if you keep moving. <BR>If you buy a good map before you go <BR>(Streetwise Paris is one I like) you can see that the heart of Paris is not very large and easily "doable". On the other hand, I've been there many times and will never run out of things to do and see.

Bob Brown

One argument in favor of changing places is that you get to see a different area of Paris as people come and go at different times of the day and night. To me, various areas of Paris have different "looks" and "characters". On the other hand, I learned the bus routes and Metro routes that took me from our hotel near the Montparnasse Tower to anywhere I wanted to go in Paris. After several days, we were very familiar with the buses. The main drawback, as I see it, is carting all of your luggage about when you move. And, you have to find another place to stay.

lola

You didn't say how long you were staying, but in a varied city like Paris, if it's a week I prefer staying in more than one neighborhood. "Visiting" neighborhoods is different from staying in them--for example for early morning markets or coffee houses, late-night little clubs, local shops-- just getting the feel of a neighborhood as if you lived there-- you really benefit by "living" in it. And more than one area offers two views. If I were staying a week in Paris I'd probably pack a small suitcase with wheels and stay half the time on the Left Bank and half the time on the Right. I think the inconvenience of moving is worth the tradeoff (I'd venture many would disagree), as there is a hidden convenience is that you can visit nearby sites and often walk to them and save time. The fact that you are thinking of doing this makes me think you think it's worth it as well.

Christina

Paris is almost twice the size of New York, not smaller. It's about 40 square miles and Manhattan is only about 23 sq miles (and I'm talking about Paris proper, not the suburbs); the population is greater, also (about 2MM vs 1.5MM). I think it's a very bad idea just because you will spend too much time packing and moving around, espec. if you do it every two nights. Not to mention potentially money if you take cabs each time. If you are footloose and travel extremely lightly (ie, with one small duffel bag or something), I could see it more. You might want to do it if you were going to be there about 7-10 days and wanted to split it between two hotels; I've done that, partly for location and partly because I wanted to hedge my bets on whether I'd like the hotel or not as I hadn't stayed there. So, I'd just spend my time walking around and sightseeing to get a feel for the various neighborhoods, rather than changing hotels.

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Stay in one place!! The metro system is easy and efficient. Instead of moving/checking in/out/packing/unpacking/moving again, you'll have so much more extra time to explore the different neighborhoods, taking note about your discoveries to help you choose a different location....on your NEXT trip!