kerouac

The other main apart-hotel chain to consider is Adagio (an Accor brand). You can actually find both Citadines and Adagio all over the world.

thursdaysd

Thanks for the info on help at the stations. Good to know it worked so well. My go-to Paris hotel near the Marais closed some time back, so interested in yours.

annhig

By myself it took me 10 mins to walk to the Place des Vosges, 15 with my friend in tow. So I don't know if you could that as "close" to the Marais.

Kerouac - thanks for the tip re Accor hotels doing apart hotels in Paris [and elsewhere] too.

starrs

Loved your TR but especially the train info. I hope to travel this December with a friend who has had some leg surgeries and is concerned about "too much walking". I've promised her I'd find ways to make this work. I feel confident about Paris (taxis or car service everywhere we want to go) but we also want to meet friends in Munich. My friend's husband will drive us anywhere/ everywhere we want to go, but I was really stressed about the train portion of the trip. Your report makes me feel so much better.

annhig

Glad to have been of help, Starrs. I don't know which station you would be going from to get to Munich, but this page links to the services available at every station covered. Worth looking at in advance I'd think. https://www.sncf.com/fr/offres-voyag.../gare-par-gare

And a bit of hunting took me to this page on the Deutsche Bahn website; it links to an application which has to be filled in for international trains at least 48 hours in advance. The snag is that it's in German but I think it's fairly self explanatory.

In any event when we booked assistance at Gare du Nord that included help at the other end; that was with Eurostar however so the situation may be different if you are booking with SNCF in France but arriving in Germany. There are also phone numbers where I suspect there will be english speakers though the info is all in German.

https://www.bahnhof.de/en/service/mobility-service

cheska15

annhig I have finally caught up with your time in Paris. A wonderful read as always.

annhig

Thank you so much Cheska. Glad you enjoyed it!

swandav2000

Wow, that Citadines is a good find!! I have considered the Citadines near the St Eustache church (because the view is soo good!) but usually end up passing it over because the individual units don't have washers. But the one you stayed in has lovely leafy views, and a balcony!! Wonderful!

And best of all, bus line 69 is just outside your door! That's my favorite bus line, all the way from the Marais to the Champs de Mars. That is really wonderful. And you can just hop on it for a few stops to get off at Birague for Pl des Vosges or a few more stops to get off at St Paul. Really a great location. These days, being close to a great bus line is very important to me.

Thanks!!

s

tomarkot

Annhig, I appreciate your very interesting TR! Having been to Paris a few times, like so many others, our goal for our next visit is to leisurely take each day, minus intense planning, and enjoy the ambience of this beautiful city. Your shared ideas provide some valuable info! Thanks so much!

annhig

<<Wow, that Citadines is a good find!! I have considered the Citadines near the St Eustache church (because the view is soo good!) but usually end up passing it over because the individual units don't have washers. But the one you stayed in has lovely leafy views, and a balcony!! Wonderful! >>

You're right that the individual units don't have washers, Swandav, but I noted on our last day that there was a laundry room. Not ideal I agree but with all the other advantages I'm prepared to forgo that even on a longer stay such as you usually have. And i'm now a Paris bus convert, having started this trip as a Paris bus virgin!

Thanks, Tomarkot - my pleasure.

Debbielynn

A friend and I stayed at the Citadines near Bastille in 2017. After taking the subway and doing too much walking between stations , we checked the bus system. I remembered from Rick Steves years ago that bus line 69 was a good one and lo and behold, it was right outside our door! We loved to look out and watch Paris go by. So easy to use. From now on I will probably use the bus when I am in Paris.

annhig

Oh those endless "correspondences" Debbielynn. In fact we did very well avoiding them until our last day when we got the Metro back from Concorde to Chemin Vert; though there were no changes of line en route, what we hadn't reckoned on was the exceedingly long walk underground to get to the right line to get us home. I wouldn't want to repeat that again.

Nelson

Well, I'm late to the party, sorry, but "Are there no flowers in Paris?" was such a wonderful start to a great trip report!

Thanks much, really enjoyed your writing.

(I've only been to Paris once, for 8 days, and was sorry to leave.)

annhig

Thanks Nelson, that's very sweet of you. Shame you've only been to Paris once, but 8 days wasn't a bad length of time for a first visit.

Coquelicot

Lots of fun to read about your adventures, annhig. You struck a fine balance between activity and just being there.

Nikki

Hi Annhig, I really enjoyed reading about your trip. I have stayed away from trip reports for a while but now that I am starting to feel like venturing out again, this was a great reminder of how much I like Paris.

swandav2000

Uh oh Ann!! Once you begin using busses .. you'll rarely go back! These days I have to purposefully make a metro trip, just for nostalgia's sake (the smell mostly). The busses can be slower, but oh so much more pleasant.

RATP has a map of the bus routes on its site, and I like to prepare for a trip by scoping out which bus lines are close to my accommodation, and which line I'll need to catch for my various outings.

happyhappy

s

annhig

Thanks, Coquelicot. I suspect that had I been by myself I'd have done a bit more, but my companion's mobility issues limited us a bit. But I was still pretty happy with the level of activity overall.

Thanks Nikki, and good to hear that you are ready to get out and about again.

Nice tip, Swandav. I'll have to try to remember that the next time I go to Paris.