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Which area to stay in
Hi everyone. Not a regular traveller - so patience and assistance required please. Ok - so we arrive at Beavious airport and then get the bus to Porte Maillot. I'd like to stay somewhere that's quite easy to walk to most of the major sites - I don't want to use the metro system - at all! Sorry! That said, the latin quarter seems to be from what i can find most central however - i really don't want somewhere that's full of pubs and clubs - we don't drink an awful lot. We're going for a short weekend in December - way tooooo cold to sit outside with a glass of wine - do they have heaters outside - read somewhere that the parisians have this. Can anyone tell me roughly how much a taxi will cost from Porte Maillot to say the Latin Quarter also if you suggest anywhere outwith this area that is quieter - information for that too. With regards to a hotel, it's got to be clean and nicely decorated with en-suite - obviously a long weekend we won't be in it too much but I do like to be comfortable. I've got a budget of around 100 - 150e per night.
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Hi, EG. I see this is your first post, so welcome to the board. I would like to assist you by suggesting you repost this question with a more specific title which includes the city you will be visiting. This is much more likely to catch the eye of anyone who has been there. Good luck.
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Hi EG,
We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. About 124E dbl w/bkfst Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37 FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67 For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box. Photos are at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-l95uyr Just in case you change your mind about the Metro, the St Sulpice stop (line 4) is about 2 min walk away. A cab will be about 20E. ((I)) |
Unfortunately Paris is quite a large city and finding a hotel from which you can walk to every major tourist site will require massive amounts of walking - miles and miles per day.
You can certainly walk to some places - but unless you want to spend the bulk of your time just walking you will need to add buses, cabs - or metro (don;t know why you won;t use it - it's very simple). If you list the sites you want to see most perhaps we can tell you the most central spot for a hotel. |
The "major sites" of Paris were, unfortunately, not planted so that tourists could easily walk to all of them. They are all over the city and will require you to either do a LOT of walking (not a bad thing, especially in Paris) or use public transportation. Are you averse to using buses, too, or just the métro?
The Latin Quarter is busy, noisy, and full of cafés and restaurants and shops - not ideal if you're seeking a quiet venue. The 6th or 7th might be better alternatives. I usually stay in the 7th at the Hôtel de France on the boulevard de la Tour Maubourg (doube around 90€ a night) or the Hôtel Duquesne on the avenue Duquesne (about 130€ a night for a double). Yes, there are outdoor heaters at cafés and restaurants in Paris and elsewhere in France. Not all restaurants and cafés have them, however, and if it's really cold or rainy even those that do have them may not use them. |
Hi everyone - yup - posting on the France / Paris section would have been handy wouldn't it. Ok - public transport - in general I don't like it - sorry, just don't. Also, I really like walking in a new city, going down side streets etc seeing where they lead to (it took us 2 trips to Rome just to get our bearings) and we just found that more preferable (I have the blisters to prove it). We'd like to walk along the river, see the arc de triomphe, place saint michel, notra-dame and of course the eiffle tower. Oh, and I would do the bus tour but only once! Thanks for all your kind assistance!
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<<Hi everyone - yup - posting on the France / Paris section would have been handy wouldn't it.>>
Posting on the "France forum" (a "virtual" space, at best) would be the right thing to do, but it is not as important as indicating <i><b>in the message header</b></i> that you are asking about Paris. And the only way to do that is to <u>re-post</u>. Ideally, Fodors would direct you to read the FAQs (in tiny little red type, upper left hand corner "HELP") before you post - - where tyey DO remind you to indicate your destination in your message header. Be that as it may, you really SHOULD re-post this question, with a more informative header. Welxome to the forum. Best wishes, Rex |
This hotel should be in your price range and is purported to be quiet. It is situated somewhat 'between' the sights you mentioned.
It would cost about 10-15 euro for a taxi from Porte Maillot (my estimate) to this location (not all the way to Latin Qtr). It has been renovated in the past two years. Hotel St. Thomas d' Aquin (Located in the 7th but it's next to St. Germain des Pres in the 6th) www.aquin-paris-hotel.com |
EG123, we stay in the 5th near Boulevards Saint Michel and Saint Germaine and have walked to the Louve, along the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe to the Trocadero to the Tour Eiffel to the Hotel Invalides to the Musee D'Orsay throughout the Luxembourg Gardens.and back to our hotel. Just not all in the same day ;;)
If you want to walk you can get to many major sights from the 5th. Plus the ones that are close, Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, the Marais and Pompidou Center are an easy walk. I would not say the 5th is rife with clubs, that certainly isn't what we have found. I like the small, non-chain type of hotels there plus the variety of activity found in the area at night. We like the Hotel College de France, but there is also the Hotel St. Jacques and Le Home Latin. These are 2* hotels with ensuite rooms that would be within your budget. I think you could stay in this part of the 5th arr. and see what you wish by walking. Deborah |
I would suggest the 7th which is near the Eiffle Tower. It's not the very most central like the Latin Quarter but it is a bit quieter.
That said, it's not like the 5th is nothing but rowdy bars at all. Somewhere around Sorbonne or Luxembourg Gardens is nice and good location. I understand the fear of Metro as I share it. My suggestion is to do your sight-seeing on foot, walking away from your hotel, have a business card from the hotel in hand, and take a taxi home when you're tired. |
Well, some parts of the 5th district are very busy with bars and lots of people. But there are some streets that are quiet.
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Are buses ok? N°84 goes direct from porte maillot to the 5th.
The weekly carte orange also works on the bus system and there are special Bus maps you can buy. I think the RATP site has a destination finder and you can choose to travel only by bus. |
Hello EG124, just so you know for the future. What ever you post on the Europe Board ends up on the Europe Board. If you put Paris or France in your title if someone clicks on France than they will see your thread. But your thread still is thrown on the Europe Board. Fodor's doesn't seem to make that clear. So as others have suggested it is best to show (in this case) something along the lines of "Paris, which area to stay in?" so that those here on Fodors that are familar with Paris can help you.
I unfortantly cannot help you as I have never been to Paris. But I sure wish you a wonderful trip. Welcome to Fodors. I hope you will be able to give us a trip report when you return home. Have a wonderful trip!! |
Hi EG123!
Everything is possible if you like walking...but I would suggest tha you try buses...:))During the day, all the buses are not very croweded...and you even can plan your trip through http://www.ratp.fr, there is an English version. Concerning accomodation, maybe the 5th is the better place...not too far from Notre Dame, in the Latin Quarter, walkable(if you really insist!) to Champs Elysees...Maybe have a look at the Hotel Timhotel Jardin des Plants, it is a mid-range hotel in your budget and the plus of the hotel is the sauna...maybe you can appreciate it after a long walk around Paris!!!:) You can see it on http://www.h-jardin-plantes.com Enjoy your stay!!! |
The advice about reposting was good, but the number of kind responses from people who are looking to help has brought this to the top again, which leads to more responses.
No metro is your call, but as said, you will spend hours walking from one important site to another, and you are only going for a long weekend. Taxis will speed up the travel, except on weekdays when it can be at a near-standstill. No one is trying to lecture you, but the Paris metro, whatever its disadvantages, is like most subway/metro systems--nothing in the city is faster as long as where you are going is near a metro stop. In Paris, that is almost always the case. For your budget and for a convenient location, ira's recommendation of the Bonaparte is what I will second. I have a couple of favorite hotels myself, but they are a little farther from the river, and close to metros but farther to walk to some important places. I have a long file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me at [email protected] Also see the Paris superthread http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519236 |
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