Staying outside of Paris
 

2 adults & 2 teens looking for nice area just outside of Paris for 2-3 nights at end of July. Heard it's more economical. Any suggestions?

Is your reason to stay in a location outside of Paris due to cost? If so let us know your budget. Folks on this forum can recommend hotels in many price ranges.

With just a few precious days to visit this wonderful city you will use a lot of time in transport and have less time to enjoy the city.

My suggestion is don't do it. You will be trucking 4 people in and out of Paris for 2 or 3 days, and that will cost you extra money. I say nothing of the time and experience you will be missing.

Do you want to visit Paris, or the outskirts of Paris?

Instead, stay in an outer arrondissement, near a Metro stop. You can find good buys and nice enough neighborhoods. The very inner sectors (1-7) are generally the more expensive. Many people here have stayed in the outer arrondissements and had wonderful trips.

Here is an article to begin with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrondissements_of_Paris


I suggest a guidebook that features budget information for Paris. A trip to the library can also get you started.

I would suggest an apartment, but 2 or 3 nights might not be available at the end of July. Or then again, they might. Some further research is definitely called for.

Also try the Destinations guide here on Fodors, or search the individual arrondissements here on the Europe forum. Good luck.

Yes cost and safety are my concerns. We will be driving from the Netherlands and will have a car. Never even been to Europe. Want to enjoy Paris. Spend $100 or less per night.

Do you need the car after Paris? Is it a rental? Are there issues with taking it from one country to another? That sometimes incurs high charges.

Less than $100 per night for 4 people is a stretch. I assume you will want parking included in that price. If you don't really need the car after Paris, I would leave it in Holland and train to Paris.

DinahJ - you are a brand new poster.

I would seriously suggest you look at trip reports and the like before you post.

You want to spend less than $100 per night for, essentially, 4 adults in one room? Good F'ing luck. #1, why drive?

Try this to get you a dose of reality...

http://www.venere.com/france/paris/

Staying outside of Paris is a false economy. The cost and time getting in and out will eat away any savings you have on the accomodations, plus you wont get the feeling of actually BEING in Paris - which is why you are likley going there to begin with!

Our biggest mistake on our first trip was staying out of centre to save a bit of cash.

You can get affordable accomodations in Paris - but I think for 4 adults your budget is too low. You can stay at Hotel Cosmos http://www.cosmos-hotel-paris.com/ for €65 a night for two people. It has no charm, but is clean and in a lovely neighbourhood and we always stay there.

Safety is really a non issue if you use normal precautions. In fact I would argue you are more safe in central Paris where things are open late, there are lots of people around and people are used to tourists. You need to be more aware of pickpockets, but I feel much more safe in central areas.

Enjoy your vacation!

"Outer Paris" is just as economical as "outside of Paris" and with far better transportation options. It is not difficult to find rooms for 50€ or less.

Thank you all so much! I have learned alot and will do more research. Rastafuytoday, you are certainly rude, but the rest have helped so much. God Bless you all!

According to your budget and the number of members of your family I recommend "Le Regent Hostel", which is a two star hotel in 37 Boulevard Rochechouart in Paris (http://tinyurl.com/leregenthostel). If your budget allows you can also check out Hotel Atlanta Frochot which is a three star hotel in 9 Rue Frochot which is also in Paris (http://tinyurl.com/Hotel-Atlanta-Frochot). For more options look at http://dealsvoyage365.com . I hope you find the information usefull.

Hi DJ,

>Yes cost and safety are my concerns.

Paris is not dangerous.

Parking can be expensive.

>We will be driving from the Netherlands and will have a car.

Please give us your entire itinerary. You might not want a car.

>Never even been to Europe. Spend $100 or less per night.<

We can see that you have never been to Europe if you think that you can get away with under $100/night for 4 adults in a major city. :)

>Want to enjoy Paris. <

We will do our best to help you.

Rasta might have been rude, but you ought to look up "Paris hotel" under "search Forum".

((I))

Another site that you can check out is www.eurocheapo.com

It's kind of late now to be booking rooms in July. I just returned and stayed near the "Nation" metro station. That area is just far enough to be cheaper than the rest of central Paris, but very convenient since the Nation station services multiple subway lines. The hotel I was in was called Lux and you can get a basic room for $59 each (2 rooms would be just over your budget slightly). I booked 1 month ahead and they only had a 'superior' room for my dates. For $69, it was really spacious, nice and clean.

Just want to add that normal an apartment makes more sense, but it's so late towards July, you may not find one. Some also charge an extra fee for stays of less than 5 nights.

The train from Amsterdam to Paris is terrific. You won't need a car at all in Paris. I'm not even sure you will need a car in Amsterdam, unless you are doing a driving tour of the Netherlands and Belgium and have decided it is cheaper to drive than use then use the train with 4 people. But even if you are flying in and out of AMS, it may still be more cost effective to do the trains between Paris and Ams.

I will be staying with locals in Schinveld, Netherlands. It is me (65), daughter-in law and 2 grandchildren (13&10). Have realized train is best way. Will now be looking for room in city. Thank you!

Good for you -- the train is delightful, and you still should be able to find some reasonable fares by adjusting your departure time and/or day as required.

dinah- you might find some deals with hotels in the accord group - i saw an advert from them the other day. lots of them have rooms for 4.

also, go on trip advisor and put in your dates and needing a room for 4, then arrange by price.

with children in tow it's always nice to be able to get back to the hotel or apartment for a rest in the late afternoon - so you can recharge batteries, have a cup of tea, etc. in the end you will see more than if you are staying outside the city when you won't want to trail back into the centre in the evening. and there are long evenings in July,

Yes, you can take a look at www.accorhotels.com -- they have about 100 hotels in Paris.

I don't know about $100 per night, but you can certainly get a room for 4 for less than £100 per night:

http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/booking/hotels-list.shtml>>

i used dates at the end of June, you would need to put in your own.