Somewhere central and safe to stay in Paris

[Greenbanana7]

I am planning on taking my DD (14) and a friend to Paris next year as they are studying French. It will be me and two 14 year olds. I would like to find somewhere to stay that is mega safe and clean (think a Travel Lodge or Premier Inn equivalent) - any recommendations very gratefully received. Thanks x

...and not too pricey x

Mercure Paris Opéra Garnier is in a beautiful, safe area

A hotel for 3 during school holidays in 1st arr. isn't going to be inexpensive. You'll need to compromise on location or accommodation. The metro is very easy to use so I'd look beyond the centre. Get yourself on booking.com or the like and start researching. There are tons of options out there

If you’re prepared to look beyond the centre, we stayed at Hotel de Flore in Montmartre. It’s on the other side of the hill from Sacré Coeur, 5 minutes to a metro station and bus stop. Felt really safe (it was just me and my 8 year old). Clean, comfortable, super helpful staff.

Ibis / Ibis budget are probably the PI equivalent in Paris. Republique is not a bad area - easy to get to Gare du Nord and metro everywhere.

Have a great time, Paris is fabulous! Lost count of our visits. Can’t really advise on the hotels you’re looking for, but just wanted to say take care at Montmartre. During one trip, my 14 year old son had a “friendship bracelet” attached to his wrist by a street hawker despite me shouting “no thank you” then “non, merci” very forcefully. I had to argue with him really quite aggressively because he wanted money.

Thats the only time we felt at all uncomfortable during the week though (just he and I). The hop on off bus trips are really good value and if you visit Versailles, take the train, two storeys, musicians wandering through the carriages playing and all human life on board!

Have a great time.

(Have you thought about Airbnb?)

Ibis styles either gare saint lazarre or the opera one would be my choice, plus get a decent breakfast
The saint lazarre definitely does a triple room not sure on the opera one

7th arrondissement is your safe riche one. 5th more studenty fun ( and cheaper)

We have done AirBnb in Paris and other French cities many times and I would highly recommend it. It is really nice to have a kitchen for breakfast and morning coffee, if nothing else, and cuts down considerably on cost. We've stayed all over and never had a problem.

I live in Paris. Paris is safe, you just need to take care in public transport or in crowded areas not to take out your phone (or to hold it firmly and have a cord looped around your weird or neck) and to be careful of your possessions e.g crossbody bag with a zip. Also don’t sign pétitions in the street or play the 3 cups game.

There are quite a few Ibis hôtels which aren’t too expensive and are clean and comfortable.

Do some research into the landmarks you want to visit and look for hôtels with in walking distance; most/all of Paris is walkable if you plan well.

Personally I find Montmartre super touristy and overly crowded so I wouldn’t stay there but would just visit for half a day to see the Sacré-Coeur, etc.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

Rather than paying for a hôtel breakfast, go to a boulangerie for Lovely fresh viennoiserie ! Expect to pay around 1.10 for a croissant and 1.30 for a pain au chocolat, plus loads of other delights available. À baguette ´tradition’ is 1.30. You could get jam and juices from a local supermarket and either bring a travel kettle or stop for coffee / hot chocolate (coffee is cheaper at the bar / country than sitting at a table and then sometimes more expensive again to be on the Terrace), most cafés have take away coffee and quite a few boulangeries too.)

The boulangerie is also a great option for lunch, à filled baguette is around 5€ or you can get a ‘formule’ which includes a cake and a drink too. They also have salads, quiche, etc. Look for a boulangerie that has seating (the Eric Kayser chain often does) unless it’s warm enough to sit in a park. Expect there to be a long queue from 11.45am/12pm.

No, I am not a baker or bakery owner!

7th is super expensive though for very cramped rooms ( albeit often quite chichi decor).

Novotel is another reliable hotel brand; we've used them across France, Netherlands and Luxembourg including in Paris with children in tow with plenty of success.

Brilliant advice - and exactly what we do.

Hotel Grandes Hommes was fab. It's opposite the Pantheon, within a 5 minute walk of two metro stops and an RER. It's just around the corner fron Place de la Contrescarpe and Rue Mouffetard for dinners so you can rest and freshen up at the hotel after sightseeing the dinner is a 5 minute walk. You can see the Eiffel Tower from the top of the street (Rue Soufflot) and the Luxembourg gardens are at the end of that street. Our room wasn't cheap (£200) but it absolutely made our holiday.

Oh and the staff were lovely.

I did notice there was a Novotel in Les Halles which I thought would be good too.

If you are here on the first Sunday of the month, a lot of muséums etc. are free to visit, including the Musée d’Orsay (but you need to set an alarm to book the places as soon as they become available), for many you don’t need to book, e.g Sainte-Chapelle.

You could also take them to the cinéma to << practise >> their French - going to the cinéma is a very very Parisien past Time ! You could also go to a one of the beautiful traditional cinémas like le Luxor.

@MrsSkylerWhite , I quite agree about Montmartre at the top of the hill/Sacre Coeur, Place du Tertre. There are some really dodgy hawkers round there.

But I was pleasantly surprised by the back end of Montmartre (Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro), it was much quieter and felt less touristy, with decent boulangeries clearly aimed at locals. I think it’s one of those areas you need to look at on a street by street basis.

Ibis or Novotel are generally quite good

We stay in two star hotels in st-Germain. Fab location and v safe. I would not stay in montmarte and the areas like Pigalle near the moulin rouge. Sex shops etc.

SoPi area is fine. Rue Cadet and surrounding roads have some lovely old shops and lots of tourists around; it’s very convenient for the Grand Magasins and Grand Boulevard area. If you want a bit posher, then the Opera area is good.

I’d recommend taking the girls to one of the karaoke cinema nights at the Grand Rex. Beautiful art deco cinema and they run a series of karaoke movies like Mamma Mia, Grease, Dirty Dancing and more. Such fun.

Thanks for the recommendations, will plough through and try to book something up. Hopefully I can find something fairly reasonable and safe!

I lived in Paris and got married there. The cheapest time to go ( in terms of hotel prices) are July and August. I often stay now in a hotel in the 6th - right beside the metro stop St Germain- called hôtel du Danube. Brilliant and you don’t even need to take the metro as it is so central. You get a great idea of Paris when you walk I realised when I came back as a tourist. When I lived and worked there we lived right beside the metro and I wouldn’t walk the length of myself.