Affordable Hotel in Paris

Je t'aime Paris! I have only had the opportunity to go twice, but long to return. We stayed in a little B&B on Rue Cler (I am awaiting a return call from my husband to confirm the name of it). Rue Cler is a pedestrian only street walking distance to the Eiffel Tower with little shops and restaraunts all along it (one for just cheese, one with fresh breads, one specializes in wine, etc). It is adorable!

As far as seeing the city, you can take an inexpensive tour by boat. There are several compaines, but I suggest
Bateaux Mouches. It is Paris' most famous boat tour company and is easily recognizable by its enormous decks and bright orange seats. Bateaux Mouches has a fleet of 14 boats, some of which offer lunch and dinner service.
There is all the info you could ever wnat on this website:
http://goparis.about.com/od/sightsattractions/a/Paris_Boa...

However, my favorite way to see the city is on bike. Bike About Tours give several affordable tours daily and the trip includes history of the city and a snack along the way. Paris is fairly flat, so riding a bike around is easy and gives you such a better perspective than just taking the metro everywhere. On the metro you are underground so much, I never really understood where things were in relation to each other until I took the bike tour.

As far as sites - visit St Chappelle Cathedral. It has the most original stained glass in a church in all of western Europe (so much was destroyed in the wars) and is stunning. We loved spending some quiet time in Le Jardins de Tuileries. And stay up late and visit the Eiffel Tower after dark. The millenial lights go off for 10 minutes on the top of each hour after the sun goes down. It is breath taking and you can enjoy a crepe with Nutella while sitting in the park watching the lights. You can't go wrong in Paris!

N.,

I would highly recommend the Hotel D'Albe St Michel. My husband and I took our 7 year old son and 1 year old daughter to Europe in the summer of 2006. It was a first for all of us and we fell in love with the city! I wrote a complete review (including photos) on Trip Advisor. If you're interested in reading it http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187147-d20808...

I would also recommend checking out the other reviews on Trip Advisor. I found them to be very helpful.

Hi N., We have travelled quite a bit with our now almost 2 year old.We are looking forward to 14 day cruise to a upcmong Caribbean Cruise. We did the south of France for our Honeymoon. However Paris we also did when were dating we used the below website it has the best and most affordable, charming and historic places in France especially Paris. http://www.france-balades.fr/newsletter Good Luck!

We stayed at the Hotel Esmerelda (sp?) right across the river from Notre Dame (you can see Notre Dame from some of the rooms). It is a very old hotel, I mean very old. It is clean, has a lot of history and personality but it is not fancy. Just a great location with some interesting design and layout. I would stay there again, especially with teenagers if you have a sense of adventure.

The Holiday Inn in Montmartre is delightful and in a fantastic
area to walk. It doesn't seem like an American Holiday Inn. It is small and very simple but nice. Cheaper to eat breakfast out of the hotel. Get a reservation on line and keep the paper work. We were there in 2004.
The Hippo is a great eating place for kids.
Also see the film Paris Je t'aime ASAP.
Have fun.
We have traveled a lot with our three children as babies and now as adults.
____@____.com

In St. Germaine de pres there should be some great boutique affordable hotels. A hotel behind the train station is crappy but cheap...I guess you get what you pay for. Good luck.