Key Post: Value in Paris ...

B

BandT

Guest
Anybody got suggestions for accommodation in Paris ...also Restaurants , attractions.

Many thanks for any suggestions.

B&T.

PS. Planning on staying 3 nights.
 
Re: Value in Paris ...

Obvious, Eiffel Tower , avoid the trip down the Seine, Louvre is worth a look (full day )but have some sort of interest and Notre Dame of course!
 
Trip on the Seine...

I would definitely recommend the trip along the Seine - really enjoyed it. Also the Latin Quarter is a great place for restaurants.

Visit Sacre Couer / Montmartre at night time and teh Pompedou Centre during the day.

The Champs Elysee is a lovely stroll in the evening and you can eat locally at reasonable prices (compared with Dublin)

MAC
 
paris

visist the marais area. Dinner in Bofinger by place de la Bastille. But most of all hust soak up the atmosphere. Careful where you eat and drink, because it can be outrageous for the unsuspecting
 
Paris

If you're into art then the Musee D'Orsay is a must - it has collections from the impressionist painters, Manet, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh. I preferred it to the Louvre.
 
paris

it might be hard to get into Bofinger but theres a petite bofinger (same outfit) near the boulevard Hausemann and its excellent, for food, cost, and ease of getting into.
 
Re: paris

Accommodation:
Depends how much luxury/services you want (and are prepared to pay for), but if there are two or three of you happy to share a room and you're happy with no-frills, room only, spending most of your time out and about and just looking for a cheap, clean, safe place to flop each night — and you don't mind catching the last metro (or sharing a taxi) home, it's hard to beat the Formule 1 chain for value : [broken link removed] will take you to the search by map page and there are four of them dotted around the boulevard péripherique , near the ends of the main metro lines.
Room for single, twin or triple occupancy - €38 per night.
Mac-Contintental brekkie about €4, if you want it. But I'd just wander down to the nearest café...

If you want something with more "authentically" Parisian charm — if that's not a contradiction in terms? — you could trawl some of these (most of them have English language versions) :

www.all-hotels-in-paris.net/
www.truefrance.com/list_h...aris_5.htm
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]

Bon séjour...
M. le Dr. M
 
P.S.

... Forgot to give a plug to my own personal favourite, when I'm there on my own for work purposes (and therefore have nothing to gain from a flat room rate for up to 3 people) :

Hôtel de l'Arc de Triomphe
10, rue de l'Arc de Triomphe (about 150 yards from it...)
75017 Paris
Tel.: (00 33 1) 43.80.31.90 / 46.22.73.63

No fax, no e-mail (afaik)

You won't find them listed on any of the above websites, presumably because they do well enough with word-of-mouth and return bookings. They're barely in the 'phone book.

Small, independent hotel (about 25 rooms?) in a nice, swish, central location (read: dead safe for walking back to late at night...) No bar, no restaurant, no room service or even in-house brekkie — but why would you be bothered? No lift, either. If you don't like climbing stairs, ask for a room on the ground or first floor.
Staff young, but very pleasant and accommodating in my experience. Park your bags there after checkout on your last day, and pick them up just before you walk to the Air France Airport bus terminal, just off Étoile (or Porte Maillot, if you're Ryanairing it...) Rates — unbeatable for the location. Last time I was there (about 8 months ago) I paid €40 for a room with a double bed w/ TV & ensuite. Smallish, as they usually are in the city centre. "Ambiance" runs to the "faded splendour" variety — this is a 150-year-old building... — but spotlessly clean. Ironed sheets & towels. No iffy smells. Open up the old-style windows onto the inner courtyard (the rooms are a little over-heated, to my taste...) and you'll barely hear so much as a passing car. Hard to believe you're 200 yards from the Champs-Élysées.

Voilà un bon petit 'plug', me semble-t-il...! ;)

Dr. M.
 
Re: Paris

Dr M,

Thanks for that. I guess "pm" is personal mail. Will try that in future. THanks Sueellen for the pm about Dr. M's reply.

I am torn between trying tob get as cheapa hotel as poss. and getting something more salubrious/romantic. As of now, I am looking at Hotel Evergreen Laurel which is the cheapest 4star on the Ryanair list at €536 for 4 nights and Hotel de Reuilly, at €280 - I don't want to end up in a kip and regret not going the extra few bob for a nicer hotel. The Meridien Etoile seems dear. Hotel Champs du Mar seems highly recommended and is reasonable at €89 per night incl brekkie. Laterooms.Com seems to have good last minute deals and I might wait til late september to check for something but that goes against the grain, waiting til last min.

I am interested in dining up the Eifel Tower, the better restaurant but not sure of the name and price range?

Slim 8)
 
Re: Paris

Name: Le Jules Vernes
Price range: ...:eek

You're obviously more of a big spender than me, Slim — but bon appetit!

Dr. M.

[P.S. 'Twas me sent you that pm... (= personal message. Just click on a username and the profile page will include a link saying "My Inbox :: Send me a Message!" — unless the user has disabled the option).
 
Re: Paris

Thanks Dr. M - Sue also sent a message in case I missed your reply, as did you.

Looked at the restaurant website - I take it that it is tres cher?

S
 
Re: Paris

très cher indeed, I'd say, Slim...

Last time I was in Paris and we wanted to go out for a good meal in a nice restaurant, my (Parisian) brother-in-law brought us to a place called
Bermuda Onions
16 rue Linois Paris 75015 (near the Eiffel Tower)
tel. (0)1 45 75 11 11
My memory of it was that it was nice and flash décor-wise, had a lovely (5th or 6th floor) view over the Seine and lots of good-looking waitresses... ;)

The brother-in-law insisted on picking up the bill, so I can't say how good value it was, but you could ring and enquire? The Jules Verne place in the Eiffel Tower is Michelin-listed, and with a location like that you can be sure they charge top-drawer prices... (as in "if you need to ask, you can't afford it)

To be perfectly honest, you'll get as good a meal in more modest surroundings (but still lovely, and more "typically Parisian") in any number of Brasseries dotted around the place — just steer clear of the cheapie Greek places around the Boulevard St-Michel/ Latin quarter. Brasseries have to display their prices outside the front door, so you know what you're getting into, and if the place looks busy you can be fairly sure the food is good. Not meaning to sound like Michael Winner (!), but we had a "truly memorable" meal one night in a place called Au Clocher de Montmartre, just near the Sacré-Cœur (10, rue Lamarck, tel. (0)1 42 64
90 23). Specialises in Auvergne regional cooking — supposedly the best in France — and after climbing all those steps it was out of this world...!

Dr. M.
 
Re: Paris

if money is short , then the best tip is to but a book of tickets for the metro ( I am not sure if you can get one for 3 days ) . Then at dinner time, get as far away from the tourist areas as possible. I found ( admittedly a few years ago ) that where the tourists ate were very expensive. However by getting on any metro line and going a few stops you will find plenty of good and cheap restaurants, where the locals eat.

See [broken link removed] for the Paris transport network, as they may have info on getting 3 days cards for the metro . The other thing about Paris is that it is quite large as a city , so using the metro or busses will be a necessity unless you want to spend a lot of time walking.
 
Re: Paris...

Thanks everyone for all the tips and info. Finally, I am struggling to choose a(n) hotel. My requirements are thus:
Not far from the Ryanair pickup/dropoff point at Porte Maillot as I do not wish to take a taxi or spend lots of time/energy hauling bags in metro. So I have been looking at hotels in 17th arrond.(generally Arc de Triomphe area). What I cannot figure out is the scale on maps on internet i.e. how far is it from Palais de Congres to Arc de Triomphe - on foot?

Secondly, I want a NICE hotel, not necessarily the cheapest. I want this to be a romantic break but not break the bank. so, in my budgetary terms I am looking for something in the 60 - 100 euro per night. I am wary of the truly cheap hotels. The hotel should ideally be within walking distance of nice places to eat and drink and stroll at night.

Lastly, having said all this, I am prepared to throw out the rules, except cost, for a really special hotel. After all, we will be living there for 4 days but only hopping on the ryanair bus twice.

Hope you guys can help, again!

Slim 8)
 
Re: Paris...

hi Slim,

if you don't get any recommendations, try the following websites for searching for hotels in Paris :

[broken link removed]

www.hotels-paris.com/

www.paris-tourism.com/

www.france-hotels.net/

I can't remember the hotel I stayed in when I was last there, but it was a bit tatty anyway, so nest see what the above links give you. If there are pictures of the hotel and rooms then you will probably get a reasonable idea what to expect.
Be aware though that anywhere within the city bounds , including the 17th arrondisement, is reasonably old. They are not as old as they look ( as they were all build when that area of Paris was flattened to make room for all the boulevards ) , but are still not modern either. So unless you go for a new modern hotel, you will get somewhere where the lift or plumbing or room may be a bit old-fashioned, let's say. However I always stayed in cheap places, so maybe that was why !!

Even if you want to stay near the bus stop for Ryanair, I would still recommend getting a metro card or book of tickets, as you will definetly need them. And in case you have not been there before, Ryanair have their bus stop at an Irish pub there ( can't remember the name ) , but DON'T drink there or eat there. From what I remember it was a pure rip off.
 
Re: Paris...

bus stop at an Irish pub

It was the "James Joyce", and you're right about the rip-off prices — although at least it meant you could sit inside if it was raining, and the barman would roar when the Ryanair bus arrived. Now you've to walk 500 yards around to the far side of the Palais des Congrès, to the (unsheltered) coach carpark (...coachpark?)

No frills, eh! :(
 
Some other posts

THE MACHINE
Registered User
Paris...€€€


Any suggestions for keeping the cost down on a break in Paris ...Restaurants , Lunches , activities transport etc...???

Many thanks ,

TM.

michaelm
Registered User
Paris


I think that a number of museums are free on the first Sunday of each month including the Louvre.

PMU
Registered User
Re: Paris


For meals try Chartier, rue du Faubourg Montmartre or les Balkans, rue de la Harpe, which is very very cheap. Get a day ticket on the Batobus - a boat that travels up and down the Seine and stops at all the main attractions and locations. For something different visit the Catacombs, place Dernfert Rochereau.

temptedd
Moderator
Re: Paris


Stay in an aparthotel. These have kitchens, so you can make your own breakfast and lunch. Go to the nearest market, get some fresh baguettes, cheese, tomatoes and fruit and have a really nice picnic lunch packed with you for each day for a fraction of the price of buying brekkie and lunch each day. Lots of places to enjoy your picnic: Ile de Ste Louis has a lovely park, Tuileries is always reliable, at Bastille there is a pier with benches, Jardin de Luxembourg is huge, there is usually an impromptu singalong on the steps at Montmartre/Sacre Coeur to name a few.

Then you have more money to spend on dinner! (But if you like to eat your main meal at lunch time and want to use restaurants exclusively, you usually get better value on the fixed menus at lunch time)

DACMAN
Unregistered User
Paris


I was in Paris for the first time last month. Good transport value are le Cars Rouge , Red Tourist Bus's that run from 8 am to 7-8 pm to all the main tourist sites, get on/off anywhere any time 2 day ticket cost €22. Metro is also excellent but you'll find that there is a lot of walking involved. Really enjoyed going to the cinema there also, approx €8-10 but the cleanliness & comfort were worth it.

DAC

THE MACHINE
Paris...€€€


Thanks for the suggestions folks.

TM

THE MACHINE
Registered User
Paris...€€€


Hi Dacman,

When you went to the cinema in Paris was it a movie/s
in French or was there English options available...???

Many thanks,

TM.

temptedd
Moderator
Re: Paris...€€€


When you check the listings for films, look for (vo) after the title of the film. This means version originale and means the film will be shown in the language of the original release.
 
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