"Good budget accommodation in Paris (France) in mid-January?" Topic

Can anyone advise on good budget accommodation in Paris in mid-January?

I am thinking of taking my two teenage children to Paris for a few days in January. Coming all the way from New Zealand, this will be a special father/son-daughter trip, and will be mainly to reward my 15-year old daughter for doing very well in her French classes (and let her practise for real!).

However, while we can eke out for airfares, our accommodation/travel/meals/sightseeing budget is going to be very limited. Can anyone recommend a cheap but good way to stay in Paris (or near Paris if the price of commuting into the city doesn't eat away any cost advantage)? Hotels, pensions etc? No need for luxury (with the state of my teenagers' bedrooms, anything would be luxury!!!).

Is Paris in mid-January a reasonable place to go? We're prepared to take the risk with the weather (none of us have even experienced a European winter, so we find the idea quite exciting!). I gather it is off-season.

Also, any suggestions of what teenagers will like in or around Paris – obviously the Eiffel Tower and Euro-Disney will be on the list, but anything else?

And of course it goes without saying that I'll be sneaking in some looks at military (especially Napoleonic) attractions!

Rachel Ray vacations on $40.00/day.
ymmv,
R.

There's budget and there's Bates Motel

Try Expedia for the former link , and Formule 1 link for the latter.

Some idea of what constitutes 'budget' would be helpful. Some people might think the Hotel Meurice budget, others not. It is low season though, so you could get a good deal.
I've stayed here in the past. It's about 200m from the Arc de triomphe off the Avenue de Wagram. Rooms are small (all hotel rooms are small in Paris ), but it's clean and the staff all speak English.

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You can buy travel passes that are good for the metro, buses and RER. Either Paris Visite or Carte Orange. If your stay is less than a week, Paris Visite is the better choice
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It gets a bit chilly in Paris in January (just above freezing), pack warm clothing.

Cheap eating? Look for Hippotamus

hippopotamus.fr

Get your daughter to translate

Chartier is reasonable, we had three courses each and a bottle of wine for 50 euro there in September. Worth a visit just to see the interior

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And of course McDonalds have restaurants across the city. We even saw some Subways last time we were there.

Have fun, elle est une belle citie :)

Thanks for that.

I have no idea who or what Rachel Ray is, and a quick googling only shows something to do with cookery classes … so not sure what the connection is with budget Parisian accommodation!

Connard, I looked up Formula 1 – the price certainly falls into the range we were looking at (the Hotel Neva was a bit expensive for us).

Thanks, too, for the public transport advice – it sounds the ideal solution to get round as much as we can.

Arteis, the Formule 1 is not really recommended, hence the 'Bates Motel'.

I'll have a look and see if I can turn anything else up. Some of the hotels at Aeroport CdG are resonable.

Connard, can you please re-post the link to the Bates Motel in Paris … the link to it via Expedia that you listed in your 9.01 post does not work, and I have not been able to find it on Google.

Er, oops. I was comparing Formule 1 to the Bates Motel (Psycho? Hitchcock?). Sorry if I confused you with my poor 'joke'.

They get very mixed reviews, and are very basic. OK for gap-year students perhaps, but I wouldn't really recommend them to a family

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The Expedia page was just an example of where to start looking.

Here's another eurocheapo.com/paris

Again, apologies if I confused you. It can't be easy trying to organise a long distance trip to somewhere you've never been before. If you have an other questions I'll do my best to answer them. I don't live in Paris, but we've been staying in the the city at least once a year for ages, and I like to think I know my way around :)

Whoops … my mistake in not picking up about the Bates. I must say I did think ti was an odd name for a Parisian hotel!

I have been in Paris – 20 years ago my wife and I had our honeymoon there! We stayed in a lovely military hotel in an old chateau-type building on Rue Monge or Rue Clovis (from memory) … not sure if it is still there, but I'm no longer eligble for it anyway.

Thank you for your advice. Once we confirm the dates we will actually be going, I'll use your recommended search sites to check something out that is reasonably priced, relatively 'cute' and in a good location for teenagers (and myself!).

I stayed in a Formula 1 just outside Lyon. It featured metal bunk beds, two plastic chairs and a tiny spot for the baggage. I would liken it on a par with a minimum security prison cell that locks from the inside, but it was clean and we survived.

My personal favorite local in Paris is the Rue Cler area, just east of the Effil Tower, and just west of Invilides. The Rue Cler is a pedestrian-only street, and filled with wonderful eateries, boulongeries, a terrific formongerie, as well as other very Parisian standards. There is even a post office at the southern end. Streets can be VERY loud. If your hotel faces any main street, ask for a room at the back.

Arteis – have you had a look at wotif.com? wotif.com/?country=FR They often have excellent deals at all price ranges, although their coverage of France is a bit limited. The only downside is that you can only book a few weeks in advance (6 IIRC). There are also lots of pensions etc that often provide good accomodation. They may not all be open in January though. Formula 1 Hotels are very basic indeed! They're the budget arm of Accor Hotels. accor.com/en/hotels.html (Hotel F1)

I'd second the recommendation about public transport. Paris is also a very walkable city, although it might be a wee bit nippy in January, probably no worse than windy Welllington though. The South of France is likely to be a bit warmer.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I think Formula 1 is going to be too near the absolute budget end of the scale … we would like a little bit of French character at least!

Artslave, what was the name of your local favourite in Rue Cler?

Huw, I'll begin looking at wotif.com early next month, as that'll make it about 6 weeks to go.