Napster

We are looking at staying on the Seine about three minues from Gare Austerlitz. After reading this forum, we had originally planned to stay in the 6th Arrondissement, but the location near Gare Austerlitz is intriguing because it is on a boat and it has free parking.

So here are my three questions:

1. We are first time tourists and will be going to see all of the typical touristy things - is the area near the Pont Charles de Gaulle so far away as to make it inconvenient?

2. If we decide to stay in 6th after all, what should I expect to pay for parking?

3. Will I need air conditioning in early September?

Merci d'avance pour votre aide!

PatrickLondon

1. Depends on your tolerance levels for, say, 20-30 minutes on public transport, but wherever you base yourself, you're going to have to use it to get to some of the "typical touristy things" - they aren't all on top of each other. It is a lot further east than many people like to stay, but I regularly stay just across the river from there without feeling too inconvenienced (on the other hand, I live in a very large and spread-out city, so I'm used to going a fair distance to get anywhere).

2. Driving in Paris would drive me nuts in 5 minutes. Having a car would be an encumbrance.

3. I live without it, but again it depends on your tolerance levels for temperatures above, say, 70F, which may or may not happen.

Ackislander

I love to drive.

I drive in Boston all the time. I think LA is an easy place to drive.

Please believe me that I would rather skip Paris altogether rather than drive there.

If you will have a car because Paris comes in the middle of a trip, change the trip or drop the car when you get to Paris and get another one when you leave.

Last time we stayed in the 6th we watched six men pick up and move a small car to create enough space to get theirs in.

Napster

Thank you both for your responses!

Yes, Paris is in the middle of my trip, whch starts in Frankfurt, goes south to Switzerland, then to Burgundy, back through Paris, and then back to Frankfurt.

I am thinking the drop fees for a one-way rental car (and I would need two of them if I were to drop in Paris and pick up to go to Frankfurt) would be so high as to be infeasible. That's why I am looking for free parking....

Btw, my other current option is right next to Le Bon Marché, and perhaps that is what I need to do - it also has free parking.

I love the idea of staying on the Seine, but perhaps that is - quite literally - a bridge too far.

Sarastro

The area around the Bon Marché is some of the most expensive real estate in Paris. I would definitely stay there as long as the accommodation was quiet. For parking in this area, expect to pay 35€ to 40€ per 24 hour period.

Gretchen

She says free parking.

nytraveler

If in the middle of the trip it may make sense to keep the car in paris, esp if you have free parking. BUT - do not attempt to drive it around in Paris.

It's not that driving in paris is SO difficult - it's really not (at least as compared to NY). It's just that there are no places to park on the street, so you don't want to constantly be putting it in/taking it out of commercial garages at high cost each time. If you just put it in the free parking and leave it there for the duration - and use foot and Metro to get around inside Paris - it will work.

Whathello

Pont Charles de Gaulle is imo perfectly located.
Close to both stations (Lyon and Austerlitz) which means easy access to RER and Metro. It will be quite deserted, as borderd by le jardin des plantes. But you are easily close to Gare de Lyon, full of life and from there 10 min max on foot to Bastille - a vibrant area.

Free parking is indeed a big plus in Paris where the car is useless.

Can you share the link with the boat ? I'd have a look into it - I also find the idea fun.

Heatwaves in september can happen. I have never used an AC in my life in Europe so cannot really comment on the need

Napster

Thanks, everyone. Here is the link to the péniche - I found it on airbnb. If the link doesn't work just search Paris, free parking, and under $150 and it will pop up.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2335559...eef3a56d52f2d0

PatrickLondon

One other complication about driving in Paris (and it's annoying enough if you use the Vélib bicycles) is the proliferation of one-way streets, which means you go all round the houses rather than straight to a destination.

kerouac

Most streets authorise counterflow for the bikes.

Staying at Austerlitz gives you a direct route by RER C to Saint Michel-Notre Dame, the Orsay, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. That is excellent.

Christina

I would probably want AC in early September, but you never know what the weather will be like, so it's just a guess. Maybe you won't need iot but maybe you will, you just can't tell at that time of year.

I would never exclude both those places to stay in the 6th arr. just because it is the 6th. I presume you are not referring to the BOn Marche spot when you say that as you first said it had free parking, also. If so, of course, I'd take it over Gare Austerlitz which is more of a built-up area, not as residential, bit roads and public buildings, train station, etc. I would never want to be on a boat, anyway, so that wouldn't appeal to me at all, but that is not going to be that convenient, probably. I'm not sure why you want to be on a boat, but that isn't a regular neighborhood, which is what I like.

Being near Bon Marche is a good location, I think I would prefer that to being on a boat down river. If you are on that boat, you could well be a bit far from a metro stop.

apersuader65

If you're under the bridge, you're 500 meters from one of two metro and RER stops. You're inside the Peripherique. You're close enough to anything to not worry about travel. I'd take the boat and free parking at the rate listed.

fuzzbucket

The only problem with the boat is that you will have to go some distance to find decent groceries. For that reason, I would vote for the other apartment, but don't spend a fortune at Le Bon Marche! Just Google "supermarche" near your address and you'll spend a lot less.

It usually takes 15 mins or more to get anywhere by Metro in Paris, so I wouldn't have any problem staying on the boat, apart from the grocery issue. Parking rates are obscene in Paris, and most people who rent out their apartments don't have cars or parking spaces. You will just have to absorb the drop and pick-up fees for your car.

nukesafe

One other thing to consider would be the tour boats. I have lived on a boat on the Seine, and the sound of their commentary can be disturbing, and at night those spotlights could give you a sunburn!

Don't be discouraged, many of the boats don't go up river beyond the Pont, so you might ask your prospective host about that. I loved being on the water, and you are close to the Aresnal boat basin at the end of Canal St. Martin, if you want to walk over and chat to the people who like to mess about in the French inland waterways.

ssander

nukesafe...

Do the tour boats go that far up the river? Vedettes de Pont Neuf (the one we usually take) doesn't...don't know about the others.

ssander

PalenQ

I regularly walk from Gare d'Austerlitz to Notre-Dame, about a 20-minute stroll along walking paths along the Seine that go thru an open-air sculpture park and the Louvre is just a another short walk from Notre Dame- so if into any walking at all you can walk to Notre-Dame, the Latin Quarter, Louvre, Gare d'Orsay and even Pompidou Center/Marias ain't too far.

Staying on a boat is so neat and as others say metro and RER travel from either Lyon and Austerlitz train stations will take you everywhere you want and more.

Pont DeGaulle is the newest of Paris' bridges over the Seine and has a walkway between Austerlitz and Gare de Lyon. And if a car it is easy to drive into from the east but as others have said a car is useless in Paris for sure.

The Monde Arabe (Museum of Arab World) is also very close to you - a neat rooftop restaurant and tea shop.

Napster

All of this is really great info! My option near Le Bon Marché fell through, so the boat is looking better and better.

TravelinGert

1. We are first time tourists and will be going to see all of the typical touristy things - is the area near the Pont Charles de Gaulle so far away as to make it inconvenient?

Pont Charles de Gaulle and the boat both sound excellent to me. We stayed way out a short walk from LaPlace RER station on our last visit and absolutely adored it. Where you'd want to stay depends what you're after, though. The boat sounds like it would give you much better access and a more enjoyable evening experience.

2. If we decide to stay in 6th after all, what should I expect to pay for parking?

No idea. I wouldn't take a car anywhere near Paris myself because I am unfamiliar with driving customs in France and the public transport is just so good. Plus the people watching opportunities are fantastic on the RER and Metro. I have stayed in the 6th and loved it, though. Just pick somewhere near a metro station. As far as the comment about men moving a small car to make room for their own, I've seen that all over Paris so I don't think you can fault the area for it.

3. Will I need air conditioning in early September?

What is the weather like where you normally live? I'm from warmer southern climes and didn't even feel like it was necessary when we visited in June a few years back, but did need it in late October two years ago. I'd say look up the average temperature historically the week you plan to visit and go from there. If you're asking because of the boat, keep in mind it will be cooler on the water most likely, though.

Mimar

Are you sure you need a car for this whole trip? You don't want one in Paris, in fact in any European city. And you don't want one in Switzerland, where some of the cutest villages are not accessible by car. Ditto, of course, sights accessed by gondola lifts. The public transportation in Switzerland is superb; the trains/buses/boats have coordinated schedules and connect seamlessly.

A car would certainly be nice for Burgundy. As for the rest of your trip, it depends on what you want to see en route to Switzerland, Burgundy, Paris and back to Frankfurt.