Right now I have reservation for my familt at the Hotel Napoleon on Champs Elysees, but Rick Steves reccommends Rue Cher close to the Eiffel tower. Where is the best location with outside corner cafes to get the Paris feeling?
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As many posters on this forum have noted the Champs Elysees has expensive hotels and restaurants, bistros (with not so good food) etc. Rue Cler is ok but overrun with rick Steeves fans. EVERY district in Paris has cafes with outside terraces! it is pretty much a given in France, Italy, Spain and many other European countries. I wish that you would look for a place in St Germain-7th district as it has both elegant hotels and lots of good cafes and restaurants plus art galleries and more. The 6th/ 5th/ 4th districts are also great, definitely better than the Champs Elysses. For the same $ you will spend on the hotel Napoleon you can get a good hotel on Ile St Louis, a much more romantic area than the Champs.
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I 100% agree with Ile St. Louis area. The Latin Quarter / Lux. Garden area is also nice.
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Champs Elysees is entirely tourist country: you will not find much French spoken in the cafes on that street, and they mostly serve indifferent food at high prices. On the other hand, it is convenient for visiting many of the sights, and if you get a block or two down side streets there are many nice cafes.
If you mean Rue Cler, it is not very convenient for transport and the only nearby sights are the Eiffel Tower and Invalides. And anywhere recommended by Rick Steves is usually thronged with tourists, all clutching one of his books and thinking they have found somewhere secret.
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%26lt;%26lt;If you mean Rue Cler, it is not very convenient for transport and the only nearby sights are the Eiffel Tower and Invalides. And anywhere recommended by Rick Steves is usually thronged with tourists, all clutching one of his books and thinking they have found somewhere secret.%26gt;%26gt;
I disagree with this characterization. Areas recommended by Rick Steves for sleeping - rue Cler, Marais, Saint-Germain, Latin Quarter - are the same areas recommended in nearly all the tour guides. I%26#39;ve seen more people %26quot;clutching%26quot; Eyewitness, Access, and other guides.
Transportation is excellent from the 7th, and far superior to some other neighborhoods, where bus routes are few and don%26#39;t run evenings, weekends, holidays.
There are half a dozen or more excellent bus routes through the 7th, including #69, one of the best bus routes in Paris, that will take you all over, often with no connections required. Ecole Militaire and La Tour Maubourg metro stations are small, one-line, stations, with escalators out (which have never been out of service during our visits).
I love the 7th for the location, cafes, enormous selection of charming, moderately priced, restaurants, and the streets lined with the quintessential Paris shops of every sort on both sides that you imagine you%26#39;ll find in Paris. Everything you could possibly need is within steps, rather than blocks.
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I also favor staying on the Ile St. Louis as its location is fantastic being near Notre Dame and St. Germain as well as the Marais. It also has the corner cafes that you describe.
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I am sorry, but there is nothing quintessentialy Parisian about the shops on and around the rue Cler. This is an extremely elite trade (le Notre Jean Paul Hevin) that caters specifically to the affluent anglophone expat communities. You can get cheesecake at the local bakery, there is a Real McCoy cafe and the prices are mind boggling to those of us living elsewhere within the city. But what REALLY annoys me is the double pricing that goes on in all the shops. Everytime I go there the local merchants try to rip me off until I let it be known that I%26#39;m a local and won%26#39;t take their nonsense. They then apologize and find excuse to correct their prices. Rant off
That said, it is cute, has a lively cafe scene and it is infinitely better than the Champs.
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I agree DJKBOOKS - I am staying in the 7th right now - corner of Rue Cler to be exact - and there are 2 metro lines within 5 minutes of my apt. I see buses all the time and a taxi stand is a 5 minute walk.
I heard English for the 1st time last night in this area and not one glimpse of a Rick Steves book :)
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I love being near Notre Dame...but also love area near Eiffel Tower, it%26#39;s great to walk to and from the tower every night! There are MANY sights near, the Rodin is wonderful and hasn%26#39;t been mentioned.
The metro and bus lines are really convenient, as are the grocery, bank, restaurants, bakery, etc.
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Wow! Thanks for all of your helpful insights. It looks like I will definately be changing my reservation. Now does anyone know a great hotel in the Ill St. Louis area? Thanks again.
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There are hotels in the area, but if you are going with your family you may want to rent an apartment.
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