A buddy and I are spending three nights in Paris the first part of September. Can I get some recommendations as to what parts of the city or neighborhoods would be good to stay at? We are looking for bars, restaurants, cafe's and safety. Are there any specific areas or neighborhoods to stay away from? I've been to a lot of large cities and realize that all areas of town have their crime.....just trying to avoid the "hood".

We will definitely be on a budget.

I heard that the Bastille neighborhood would be good with a lot of English speakers and an international crowd at the bars.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

What does "budget" mean to you? (I know what it means to me - but have no idea of your expectations. A $ or euro number would be helpful.)

I stayed at this great place in Paris in the Summer of 2007, its not far from Gare Montparnasse, great restos and bars, not touristy at all, and its right next to the Pasteur metro stop. Here is the website: http://www.innova-paris-hotel.com/

The price was very decent, it was very clean as well.

Have a great time !!

You would find Bastille/Oberkampf suitable, probably. You might like Belleville as well, as it remains active very late.

I think you would like the 5th and 6th, specifically the area between Blvd. St. Michel at the Seine and St. Germain des Pres. A really hopping place is the Caveau de la Huchette on Rue de la Huchette. If you are going to Paris why do you want to speak English? Learn some French.

A hotel I've got earmarked for my daughter to stay at in the Bastille is the Hotel Daval. Rooms are under 100 euros per night.

http://www.hoteldaval.com/en/

It is just of the Place de la Bastille,and appears clean and somewhere I've read some reasonable reviews.

I have lists of budget hotels in Paris, and more lists of REAL budget hotels in Paris, so let us know what YOUR budget is and I can post the links.

Also, this hostel is well located and at 36 euros pp looks good...

http://www.mije.com/index_individuels_uk.asp

Hoppock20 - If you are there from a Friday to Monday you can book a room at The Ibis Hotel La Defense for 49euros (double)on their internet site.
It may be out of town but the metro goes directly to the Champs Elysees and from there you can go anywhere. Maybe worth considering a cheaper but really OK hotel a bit further out? I find you don't have to stay right on top of the action as the metro service is great - If you are intending to stay up well past midnight this could be a transport problem- a taxi would be quite expensive.

hi julia,

iam looking for a accomdation with kitchen for 3 adults and one kid. can you suggest some good ones

I think the Bastille area would be good for you, and there are some cheaper hotels there. It is a young area and, yes, I'd say an international crowd. I don't think you can learn to speak French in a couple weeks (I wish it were that easy). Why not just go with that.

The 5th would also be good. If you are in central Paris, I don't think you need to worry too much about neighborhoods to avoid, I can't think of any. Ones you might avoid in some outer areas are not where you'd probably want to stay anyway, they would be inconvenient. For a few days for someone who hasn't been there before, I don't think you'll be exploring outer neighborhoods.

Thank you all for the great insight.

We were hoping to spend less than a $100 per night. I've noticed that a lot of places charger per person, so $50 per person/night.

We're just looking for a bed, shower and safe place to leave our luggage while we go exploring. We'll probably be too drunk to care what the hotel looks like when we come stumbling in at night