Sarahk

Hi...I am travelling to Paris in the first week of April. I have never been there but am looking for a reasonable place to stay. I am travelling with my friend and she is mentioning staying at a hostel. We are Canadians so our dollar is weaker than the US. Our budget for the lodging is approx. $55 /person/day. Never been so would like some great spots to visit. Not big on tourist hangouts.<BR><BR>Thanks!!

Kristy

You may want to try the Lonely Planet website, probably more geared toward your kind of travelling. It is an excellent site!<BR>www.lonelyplanet.com, the forum is called thorntree. Good luck and have fun!

elaine

Rick Steves website or books may also be of help. Check Frommers.com as well, more tight budget-minded than fodors.

Gretchen

You might look at this website and others for 1* hotels. They will cost about the same as a hostel with a little more privacy.<BR>http://www.paris.org/Hotels/Etoiles/...toiles.1E.html

bob_brown

Let me make two suggestions. First get a couple of good guide books. I like the Let's Go Paris book and the Michelin Green Guide. One is practical; the other a little highbrow but packed with great descriptions not available in other books.<BR>Second dial into this website:<BR>//www.france-hotel-guide.com/parishotels.htm<BR><BR>If you will look along the left margin there is a link to Budget Hotels. Some of these are on the edge of things, but nothing in Paris is very far away if you are near a Metro station.<BR><BR>Some hotels might offer a special that early in the tourist season. The Amiral, about which I know nothing, offers a room without a shower, but with a basin and toilet, for 44 E per night. <BR><BR>The number of visiting objectives in Paris is seemingly infinite. I am not trying to be funny there, or snippy. There are so many in fact that you will need to study the guides and decide what interests you and what does not. <BR><BR>Unfortunately, many of the first choice places charge an admission. If you are artists or know about art, certainly the two places at the top of almost all lists are the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. After that, the list starts to grow almost exponentially.<BR><BR>That is why I say that to get the most out of your time there, you need to look at the books and decide what you want to see.<BR><BR>For example, I wanted to look at the site of the Bastille, at the infamous square where all the head chopping took place: Place de la Concorde.<BR>I was content to look at the Eifel Tower rather than go up in it. You can stroll along many of the streets and take in the moving sights and sounds of Paris for the price of walking. <BR><BR>I am not sure which Sunday it is, but there is a free Sunday at the museums each month. Yes they are crowded that day, but you do not have to pay anything. We took advantage of it one day at Musee Rodin without knowing about it in advance. <BR><BR>And of course if you get a museum pass the price per visit drops considerably.<BR>There are various discount ideas for the Metro and bus system. I usually just buy a carnet of 10 tickets which reduces the average price per ticket about 25%. (I bought a carnet last year, but I cannot for the life of me remember how much I paid for it in euros. In 2001 it was about 58 of the old francs for a carnet, or 8 francs for each single ticket.)<BR><BR>But read the guides. You will soon form a list longer than you will have time to visit.<BR><BR>Good luck.<BR>

jamikins

Also try www.eurocheapo.com<BR><BR>best of luck!

baker

Hello fellow Canadian; I know what you mean about the dollar and stretching ours as far as it will go. I highly recommend a hotel in the 7th called Champ de Mars; I am returning for my 3rd stay there in June. At that time a twin accomodation is costing 79 Euros/night. It's in a great location; about a 10 min walk from the Eiffel Tower and a 20-25 min walk to the Champs Elysees. There's a great restaurant (Cafe Marche) right across the road, a bakery (Il Fournil) at the corner and the rue Cler is filled with cheese shops, fruit and veggie markets, florists, wine,etc. Just down the street is the post office, and around the corner is the Metro station(Ecole Militaire). The area is safe to walk in and there are lots of restaurants nearby. The hotel does serve breakfast (not incl) but we would just pop out to the street for oranges, croissants, and to the little supermarket next door for yogurt; we also often took a picnic lunch with us of baguettes, cheese and ham (from Davoli on the rue Cler). The hotel itself is decorated in Provencial colours of blue and yellow. Their web site is:www.hotel-du-champ-de-mars.com

Sarahk

That is great! I have been searching around for information and you have really helped out. Not to say that I am entirely cheap, but I would like to spend $$ on things that I can do and buy rather than a super deluxe room that I'll pretty much use for sleeping and showering. The Canadian $ is worth $.062 in EUR so we have to budget somewhere.

grandmere

If you are willing to spend $55/day/person, you can stay in a better accommodation than a hostel, assuming that you would room together. The above recommendations are good ones.

ira

Hi Sarah,<BR> Things to do for free:<BR>Walk along the Seine, especially down by Notre Dame. Visit Notre Dame. Walk through Montmartre. Visit Sacre Coeur. Visit the Arc de triomphe, Eiffle tower, walk down the Champs Elysee. See the Tuileries, Luxemourg gardens and parc Monceau, walk through the Isle St Louis area, Visit the 5th and 6th ad and stroll along Boul St Germaine, See the Sorbonne.<BR> That should take care of a day or so.

baker

I'm not cheap either but I'm like you; would rather spend my money on things to bring home with me. But I also am past the age where I want the bathroom down the hall, etc. Another tip: the Marais is a great place to spend Sunday; lots of hip clothing stores, great cafes and lots of people watching in the Place des Voges. Buy metro tickets in a &quot;carnet&quot; book of 10; we just buy one at a time because if the weather is great we walk and walk. Catch one of the river boats at the Pont Alma for a night cruise on the Seine.

Sarahk

Very Cool! I have to agree about walking down a hall to use the bathroom. You sound like you are just like me when it comes to travelling. My friend is just a little more frugle and may take some convincing. Have you ever persued the idea of staying at a BnB?<BR><BR>

baker

Am not interested in B&amp;B; I like the anonymity of staying in an hotel rather than someone's house. You will enjoy Paris I'm sure; it's such a fabulous city; just to BE there is worth the price. I'd suggest you start trying to book accomodation as many of the good places get booked solid; Champ de Mars among them. Another reasonable place just down the street is the Hotel Levesque. Enjoy planning your trip; I have to go finish packing; we're off the St.Martin tomorrow. There are lots of people on this board who can offer you tips.

RJD

It cost nothing to tour the gardens at Rodin's house. Filled with sculpture, like the Gates of Hell. The gardens are the best part of a visit there.

HowardR

One of the best and certainly rather unique experiences in Paris--a stroll through the Pere LaChaise Cemetery--is free!