Where to stay in Paris?

DJ-99

I am going to be in Paris with a friend of mine Friday-Monday in October, and am trying to decide what neighborhood I should book a hotel in.

Here a few details:
-3 nights
-2 23-year old males
-going to see all the major tourist stuff (Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, etc.)
-going to drink at bars/clubs at least 2 of the nights (suggestions?)
-$200/night MAXIMUM on a hotel/apartment (total, $100 per person)
-I speak French fine

I am looking for opinions. Is it better to stay near the sight-seeing stuff, like right near the Eiffel Tower, or is it not too big of a deal to take the metro there in the daytime? Is it better to stay in the Latin Quarter, near the club scene, somewhere else? Is there anything super-cool we should make sure we do while we are there?

Any thoughts and/or experiences are much appreciated!

Reservoir Angel

I know the Arc de Triumph is a major tourist spot but NEVER stay anywhere nearby or you'll be kept awake by endless traffic.

matt has a problem

Stay near a Metro stop, instead of near the attractions. The hotels will be cheaper, and trains are cheap and plentiful. The only drawback being the Metro stops running around 1am Sunday-Thursday, but usually stays open until a little after 2 on Friday and Saturday.

DJ-99

I feel like staying right near the Gare de Lyon might be a good idea. I'm not really sure how easy it is to get up to the Eiffel Tower and nightlife from there, however. Does anybody know?

Barcardi

Stay in the opera district, its trendy and ritzy at the same time, while not busting the bank... and if you find a nice place its only blocks away from the Louvre.

Good luck with the nightlife, i stayed there for 9 days and all i could find was the area around moulon rouhe and the champs... both either seedy or expensive. Then again i didnt know shit about paris before that visit... and i only discovered the latin quarter side of the river the last day. For me the real nightlife was just hanging out around the eiffel tower after dark.

Also get a bus pass, easy way to get around.

PaperPritt

DJ-99 wrote: »

I feel like staying right near the Gare de Lyon might be a good idea. I'm not really sure how easy it is to get up to the Eiffel Tower and nightlife from there, however. Does anybody know?

Bad idea. Gare de Lyon is very far from any form of entertainment... errr okay it's not far from Bastille but that's about it. Uh... Republique isn't too far away either, BUT :

Your best bet would be to find something near Opera, which isn't central, but very close, and has a lot going for it:

Lots of clubs/bars not too far from it
Great metro hub allowing you to go anywhere really fast
Quiet at night
Not too expensive (yet).

The subway stopping at 2am is a bit of pain for the lovers of the night life, but taxis tend to be relatively cheap after 1am anyway.

I'll try to expand my post a bit later. Better hurry with your reservation tho, hotels are booked up really fast anytime of the year.

DJ-99

PaperPritt wrote: »

DJ-99 wrote: »

I feel like staying right near the Gare de Lyon might be a good idea. I'm not really sure how easy it is to get up to the Eiffel Tower and nightlife from there, however. Does anybody know?

Bad idea. Gare de Lyon is very far from any form of entertainment... errr okay it's not far from Bastille but that's about it. Uh... Republique isn't too far away either, BUT :

Your best bet would be to find something near Opera, which isn't central, but very close, and has a lot going for it:

Lots of clubs/bars not too far from it
Great metro hub allowing you to go anywhere really fast
Quiet at night
Not too expensive (yet).

The subway stopping at 2am is a bit of pain for the lovers of the night life, but taxis tend to be relatively cheap after 1am anyway.

I'll try to expand my post a bit later. Better hurry with your reservation tho, hotels are booked up really fast anytime of the year.

Is Opera more 2eme or 9eme arrondissement? Or neither (17eme)?

Tach

The wife and I stayed at a nice little place about a 10 min walk from the Eiffel Tower. Hotel D'Avre. Relatively cheap (back in '06 anyways) convenient to the Metro, and nice restaruants up and down the streets.

Would probably stay there again, given the chance.

Mr Blonde

My girlfriend and I stayed in the 10th Arrondissement at the Crowne Plaza Republique Paris earlier this month. It had a metro stop right outside its front door that had 5 lines at that stop. It wasn't next to anything famous (closest to Bastille- but there is nothing at Bastille anymore), but was only 20 minutes from everything by Metro. Really cheap, decent rooms (hallway carpets need to be redone though).

Nothing in the area worth noting (don't eat at the Crepe stand in the park) or eating at except for the boulingerese around the corner for breakfast.

matt has a problem

I stayed at the Hotel Yllen the last time I was in Paris. It's right near a metro, and not too far to walk to other stuff. I'm finding prices around 130 Euros for a double room which (when I was there at least) included a breakfast of juice, coffee and your choice of bread (they had excellent croissants, of course).

DJ-99

Mr Blonde wrote: »

My girlfriend and I stayed in the 10th Arrondissement at the Crowne Plaza Republique Paris earlier this month. It had a metro stop right outside its front door that had 5 lines at that stop. It wasn't next to anything famous (closest to Bastille- but there is nothing at Bastille anymore), but was only 20 minutes from everything by Metro. Really cheap, decent rooms (hallway carpets need to be redone though).

Nothing in the area worth noting (don't eat at the Crepe stand in the park) or eating at except for the boulingerese around the corner for breakfast.

That place looks pretty decent but it runs almost $300 a night. Looking for something cheaper than that.

Comahawk

When I went with my high school trip we stayed in FIAP Jean Monnet, it was a pretty decent hostel and if I remember correctly very cheap too.

Mr Blonde

DJ-99 wrote: »

Mr Blonde wrote: »

My girlfriend and I stayed in the 10th Arrondissement at the Crowne Plaza Republique Paris earlier this month. It had a metro stop right outside its front door that had 5 lines at that stop. It wasn't next to anything famous (closest to Bastille- but there is nothing at Bastille anymore), but was only 20 minutes from everything by Metro. Really cheap, decent rooms (hallway carpets need to be redone though).

Nothing in the area worth noting (don't eat at the Crepe stand in the park) or eating at except for the boulingerese around the corner for breakfast.

That place looks pretty decent but it runs almost $300 a night. Looking for something cheaper than that.

Ah, I forgot that it was cheap because there was a sale for that hotel on Expedia. Totally forgot.

DJ-99

My other question is about Metro passes. We're going to be there 4 days, going to/from the airport once, and to/from Versailles once.

I'm not sure if it's best to buy daily passes, a 3- or 4-day pass, a booklet of single passes, or what. I guess the real question is, how often should I expect to have to ride the metro on a normal day of sightseeing and a night of going out? I think I can get an unlimited pass for 40 euros.

If I have to I'll build a little spreadsheet to evaluate my options, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

PaperPritt

I'm not sure if it's best to buy daily passes, a 3- or 4-day pass, a booklet of single passes, or what. I guess the real question is, how often should I expect to have to ride the metro on a normal day of sightseeing and a night of going out? I think I can get an unlimited pass for 40 euros.

For the Metro you should get ParisVisite passes, good for 3 days just slightly cheaper than the 7 days standard Carte Orange, link here :

http://www.ratp.info/touristes/index.php?langue=fr&rub=decouvrir&cat=paris-visite&page=tarifs

this will basically get you anywhere in Paris and nearby.

Is Opera more 2eme or 9eme arrondissement? Or neither (17eme)?

actually beetween both, just above the Champs-Elysees.

oldsak

The last time I was there I stayed here http://www.hoteleiffelseineparis.com/

It was really convenient, right by touristy stuff, affordable, and clean.

saint2e

I've stayed at the Europe Hotel twice. It's cheap and a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, and a 2 minute walk from the nearest Metro Station.

DJ-99

So I ended up booking this, primarily due to the suggestion that staying near Opera is good. I checked the location out, and it seems pretty decent.

http://www.paris-hotel-lautrec.com/english/location.html

If anybody has any general tips for Paris, or other specific tips regarding nightlife, cuisine, transportation, etc., that is still much appreciated! Thanks a bunch!

Mr Blonde

At restaurants ask for a "caraff (a pitcher of tap water)," they may bring you a bottle of water which will be 8 euro. Send it back.

If you have an iphone, the metro Paris subway app doesn't require internet access and is EXTREMELY useful.

Expect random rain showers even when it is only partly cloudy.

If you're near the Eiffel Tower at night, look up the hill and there will a purple glow in one of the buildings. That's a fancy restaurant with good food (expect 20-30 euro a plate). The duck there is superb.

That's about all I got, you'll figure out the rest I'm sure. Also, people really do have bad body odor there.