Paris Hotels and Restaurants

[Laura B]

My husband and I are (tentatively) planning to spend Christmas in Paris. I have been doing some research on hotels while we wait to see if we can take the trip or not. Anyway, I just know that some of you must have been to Paris and stayed at wonderful hotels and ate meals that were to die for. So, please share!

[Beth H]

This is a timely post! My husband and I also are planning a trip to Paris for 2001, and I'd be interested to read any tips or information, especially about "non-touristy" restaurants. Forget about light cooking in this case!

[Danielle]

My husband and I honeymooned in Paris this past June. What a wonderful city to visit! Luckily my husband knew French well enough to get us around the city. The food there was delicious. Definitely different and rich. We did not eat at any extremely fancy restaurants while we were there. The waiters in most upscale eateries speak French almost exclusively(so we were told), and although my husband did know the language, he did not feel comfortable enough do dine in a really fancy place. There are tons of charming bistros and cafes all over the place. The one place we really liked was Le Bistro de Papa, which was located a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. All restaurants are required to post their menus outside the door, and we looked for the ones that were written in both French and English.

You'll find that the eating habits of the French are very different. Breakfast is minimal, usually consisting of a croissant or pain de chocolat (croissant rolls with chocolate chunks baked inside), some plain yogurt with fruit preserves and honey, and lots of black coffee. Lunch is a larger meal, but you can find cafes that offer sandwiches served on French baguettes. Lots and lots of cheese, rich butter, and wine. We found almost every place we went to served French fries with their meals! No baked potatoes. Ketchup is also a rare comodity there--they dip their fries in mustard or mayo. When we were homesick for traditional American fare we went down the street to the Hard Rock Cafe.

If you pick up a guide book (we had one by Frommers), they have great recommendations for restaurants in every part of the city.

I have tons of advice to give about staying in Paris. We learned a lot about the best currency exchange methods, travel, hotels, and transportation while we were there. I can either post you some tips here (beware! the post will be very lenghty), or you can email me directly at kalscdc@dhfs.state.wi.us, and I'd be happy to email you back.

Danielle http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Leanne]

We just got back from Paris - had 2 weeks there in May. Mmmmm..... The food there is great. We liked an upscale place called the Vaudeville. Best French Onion Soup I've ever had & the creme brulee.... Everything we had was wonderful & we loved the wait staff. It's near the Louve - towards their version of the stock exchange I think. There was another fabulous place also near the Louve. Very romantic - you need reservations, but the hotel can probably do it for you. I can not remember the name of the restaraunt - but it is in the courtyard of the Palais Royal. (That might even be in the name of the restaraunt.) It's listed in Frommers or Fodors - or probably both.
During the day - I loved Panini - bread with cheese, tomatoes, olive oil & spices, grilled flat. (there are several varieties - but this combo was my favorite.) You can get the on the street or in cafes. We found that cafe food wasn't great - we usually just got sandwiches & croq monsieurs. (cheese & ham melted on bread) The other thing to note about cafes is that the better the seat, the more expensive the price. (this is usually for outdoor dining - closer to the street is considered "better".)

We stayed in 3 or 4 different places & liked them all fine. 9Never any 5 star hotels though.)You essentially get what you pay for. 150$ or so for a nice room & nice lobby & wait staff that really takes care of you, to 60$ for a decent room, maybe no TV, maybe not as much help from the desk, or as near some sites. Nothing takes too long to get to though. We figure that you're just in the room to sleep & not hang out, so it doesn't really matter. I think earplugs are key in any hotel - they all seem to have thin walls, even in the nice places & you're always near a busy street it seems.
Any questions - just post - I may know the answer.
Another tip - go to the Eiffel tower at night at the top of the hour - they do a little light show that is left over from the millenium celebration I guess.

[Laura B]

Thanks Danielle and Leanne. Danielle, please feel free to post any advice on the board if you don't mind. Since Beth H is also interested, we can both read your advice and you won't have to deal with email requests from both of us!! So, fire away, especially about hotels. We don't want to spend more than 150 US$ a night, preferably we would like to spend closer to 100-120 US$ a night. Is the exchange rate good between US and France?

[Luvlax]

I too am planning a trip with husband in october 2001. I have checked fodors on line and also heard about the Leeds Guide to dining.

[Marsha]

We went to Paris several times in '96-'98 since we lived in the UK. Here are several restaurant suggestions - Le Suffren, 15th arrondissement, 84 avenue de Suffren, Metro La Motte Picquet-Grennelle (very near the Eiffel Tower) - ala carte & fixed price menus - very friendly & will help you translate the menu if needed. Le Grand Colbert (2nd) 2 rue Vivienne (closed in August), Metro Bouse - fixed price menus & ala carte (very near Le Vaudeville mentioned in earlier post, which is also a very good restaurant (2nd) 29 rue Vivienne A little fancier than Le Grand Colbert but a great value.) Au Pied de Cochon (1st) 6 rue Coquilliere - 24 hour brassiere - a little touristy but great mussels & scallops. Aux Crus De Bourgogne (1st) known for their reasonably priced foie gras & cold lobster - closed weekends & August. No set menus but a wide price range & large portions. Chez Jenny - Alsatian brasserie that we thought was so-so & wouldn't go back to, although others have said it was good. Restaurant de Palais-Royal (might be the one mentioned in earlier post) - bistro type but not as good a value for money as the others I've listed. Leon de Bruxelles (chain with many locations - check your yellow pages!) - has no charm at all, does a booming business with lots of tourists & lots of French folks - wonderful mussels with tomato & cheese (like mussel pizza withouth the crust!) Portions are quite large here & prices are very low. Sorry I can't recommend a hotel - ours has gotten too expensive for us (we're headed back in November)! Will report back with more information from that trip after T-giving. Are you in to shopping? Be sure to go to Maille (the mustard place), Hediard (gourmet food shop), Fauchon (gourmet everything)...do you see a pattern here? No clothing, just food stuff! If you stay in the 1st arrondissement, there is a great place for cafe au lait & pastry, called Gargantua (and if you eat there every day, you will be the name!) that is much cheaper than most of the hotels for breakfast. You do need to practice saying "Deux cafe au lait (or, cafe noir) sil vous plait" & you can always point to the pastry. Hope you have a great time! (We found that trying to speak French made it much easier, even if we weren't very good at it. Many of the French speak quite good English, but resent our expecting them to speak our language without trying to speak theirs...and it makes them feel superior when we are SO bad at it!!)

[Danielle]

I'll post tomorrow at work all the tidbits we learned during our trip! When we were there, the exchange rate was good--about six and a half francs to the U.S. dollar. The hard part is to find a place that will give you the best exchange...but I'll post that tomorrow!

[Leanne]

I have to agree with Marsha's last comment. Learn some key phrases in french & just try. That's all the French want is for us not to be so arrogant that we walk into their country & expect that they should speak our language. They're very friendly & helpful if you can use any French at all. Sometimes I would start in French & they would respond in English - the fact that I was not the typical rude American made them very willing to help.

On exchage rates - use a credit card when you can & an Atm card for cash. Those give the best exchange rates in most foreign travel.

[Danielle]

Here is the email I sent to a friend a while ago about our experience in Paris. Sorry it's a bit long! We just learned so much while we were there, and wish we knew some of these tips ahead of time.

You'll have a fantastic time. The scenery is just gorgeous. Take lots of pictures! We developed six rolls when we returned. Any other questions, please let me know!

Danielle http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Flight
I don't know if you've booked your flights yet or not, but my advice to you is if you have to catch connecting flights either to or from Paris, make sure you schedule plenty of time between flights in case one of your flights is late. We left from O'Hare airport in Chicago and caught a connecting flight in Newark to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Originally we had a two hour layover in Newark, but because our flight left an hour and a half late from Chicago, we literally had to run like the wind at the Newark airport to catch our connecting flight. It was awful. On our way back we left a half hour late from Charles de Gaulle, which really isn't bad, but because we had to go through customs and immigration when we arrived in Newark, we missed our connecting flight to Chicago and had to wait two and a half hours for the next flight. Customs and immigration takes a while to go through, plus you have to recheck your luggage. It's really a pain in the butt. By the time we got back to Chicago, we were SO crabby.

Also, be sure to apply for your passport way ahead of time. Sometimes it can take up to three months to get it. We applied for ours in February, and received it in the middle of April. Keep it with you at all times.

Language
I'm glad my husband knew some French, because it made it so much easier to get around. Almost everyone knows English, but they will speak to you in French first. If you don't know much, it's better to try to speak their language and make mistakes than to not try at all. I memorized a few key phrases (hello, goodbye, I would like to have...., Do you know English? I don't know much French, please, thank you, etc). We didn't encounter any rude French people while we were there, but I do think we received a much warmer reception because we tried to speak their language. They seem to really appreciate the effort.

Currency
This was the one thing we really learned about on our trip. We changed all our money to travelers checks before we left, knowing that it was probably the safest way to take money. The problem you run into when you exchange it to francs is to find the best rate. We had been told by friends the best place to exchange money is at a place called Credit Lyonnais. There's tons of them in Paris, so they aren't hard to find. The problem is, they won't exchange travelers checks! Augh! We weren't told that before we left. We did exchange some money at the airport, and the exchange rate was OK. But when we needed more money and discovered we couldn't get it from the Credit Lyonnaise, we had to exchange it at a cruddy little money exchange store off on a side street, and we got terrible rates. My advice to you is if you take travelers checks, find the American Express exchange place (the address will be on the travelers checks--we didn't think to look for the place until Sunday, and on Sundays ALL banks are closed) and exchange them there. You will get the best rate.

Also, we discovered another way to get really good rates. Your credit card! We used our credit card to make a few calls to the U.S., and when we received our bill, we discovered the exchange rate was far more superior than any place we exchanged our money! If we would have known that, we would have used our credit card to pay for dinners, souvenirs, etc. You might want to consider using your credit card while you're there.

The dollar was very strong while we were there--about six and a half francs to the U.S. dollar. After December 2000 the franc will be obsolete, since all countries are switching to the Euro dollar.

Transportation
I strongly advise you NOT to rent a car while you are there. The traffic is horrific!!!!!! In fact, may people ride motorbikes there just to navigate through the traffic better. The streets are also very narrow, and lots of one-ways. If you visit the Arc de Triumph, you'll see that the circular street that surrounds it has no defined lanes, speed limits, or traffic lights. Cars just merge on and off wherever they feel like it. The best way to get around is by Metro. Very clean, easy to use, and it runs until 1:30 in the morning. You can get anywhere in Paris via the metro. We had a Paris guidebook from Frommers, and it had a great city map on one side and a metro map on the other. You can buy tickets at any metro station. I suggest you buy them in bulk, as they are cheaper that way.

The Sites
We visited all the main Parisian attractions while we were there, plus some lesser-known places. I recommend getting a guidebook, and don't be afraid to look touristy and use it there. Almost everyone we saw had some sort of guidebook. We loved our Frommers book. It gave the history on all the sites, so it really helped us to appreciate them that much more. It also had restaurant and shopping recommendations.

We went to two museums, the Lourve and Muse d'Orsay. The Lourve was HUGE--plan a whole day for it if you want to see everything. We spent almost four hours there and only saw three floors on one wing (there are four or five wings). We made sure we saw the Mona Lisa, and that room was a madhouse. Definitely worth going. The Muse d'Orsay is a beautiful museum built in an old train station. This is where you'll find the Impressionists and more well-known artists like Monet, Manet, Van Gough, Picasso, etc. Definitley see this one as well.

Other places we visited:
--Eiffel Tower - expect to stand in long lines. The view from the top is breath-taking. On a clear day, you can see for 50 miles. There is an awesome light show in the evening. It runs every hour.
--Notre Dame - one of the most beautiful churches there! You can sit inside in the pews and just admire the architecture for hours.
--Arc de Triumph - go to the top here as well. Very nice view. Be prepared to climb a lot of stairs. And don't try to cross the street to get to it! There is an underground pathway you can take to get to it.
--Hotel de Invalides/Dome church - Napoleon's tomb is in the Dome church. And there's a neat military and weapons museum in the Hotel de Invalides. We saw Napoleon's stuffed horse there!
--The tunnel where Princess Di was killed at Place de Alma. Tons of graffiti everywhere mourning her death.
--Place de la Concorde. Site of the mass beheadings, located at the end of the Champs Ellysse.
--Montmartre - the artists' district. Take a walking tour (listed in Frommers guidebook), and make sure to visit the Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart church). At the town square there are tons of artists who will sketch your picture. Bargain for a better price. This area was inhabited by Van Gough and Picasso.
--Boat ride on the Seine - a very nice ride. You get to see lots of neat bridges and other famous monuments mentioned above.
--St. Chapelle - another beautiful church. It was closed for a service so we did not get to go inside.

In hindsight, I wish we would have taken the time to take a tour of the Latin Quarter (where the Sorbonne is). I hear this in a neat area because the students live there. We also did not get to Versailles. We were supposed to take a tour the day we arrived, but we were too exhausted. You'll have to find some sort of transportation out there, since it's on the outskirts of Paris. Call ahead to make sure the Chateau is open, which is supposed to be the best part (Hall of Mirrors).

And when you visit Notre Dame, take the time to find the Berthillion ice cream place on Isle de St. Louis. The yummiest ice cream, and neatest flavors!

Food
The food is very different, and very good. We went to a few nice bistros and had steak, which was delicious. They serve fries with everything. Try the crepes while you are there, as well as their fruit tarts and creme brulle. Delicious! A few days we sought refuge from the French restaurants and ate at a Hard Rock Cafe. They don't drink a lot of milk there. Yogurt is big, but at our hotel, they served it at room temperature. Yuck! Overall, the food there is great.Take the time to sit at a sidewalk cafe and people-watch. We had the best luck at restaurants where the menu was in French and English. They are required by law to post their menus outside the restaurant, so this will make it easier for you. If you want to go to a really swanky restaurant, that's where you'll really need to know how to speak French.

Bring Tums or Pepto Bismol with you. The food is rich! You can prevent traveler's diarrhea by eating pineapple on the airplane (luckily we did not encounter this, but we got this tip from a friend who has traveled extensively).

Our favorite bistro was Le Bistro de Papa. I do not remember the address for it, but it was a few blocks away from the Eiffel Tower. It was just a cute little place. We had the steak with mustard sauce there, and it was very good. Also had the creme brulle, which was delicious. Instead of serving it in a small ramikin like they do here, it was served in a big oval dish. Yum!

As for groceries and gourmet food, there are so many places there, you won't have a problem finding a place. The food and vegetable stands are beautiful. One tip I was given...if you buy fresh fruits and veggies, you are supposed to let the vender pick them for you. They take great pride in their displays and knowledge of what produce is the freshest, and apparently they get offended if you try to pick the fruit yourself.

We stopped at a great olive oil store on Isle de St. Loius, and I believe it was on Rue de St. Louis. It's actually a few blocks from the ice cream place I mentioned above. It was called Olives and Company, and they had an exquisite selection of olive oils, along with handmade ceramic decanters to serve oil in and hand-carved utensils made of olive wood. It's not far from Notre Dame Cathedral.

Hotel
Ask lots of specifics questions about your hotel when booking. Ask if the hotel is located on a busy street, and where your window faces. Try to find a place that serves continental breakfast, which will save you money. I believe that air conditioning is not a standard there. You can open your windows to let air into the room, but expect to here lots of noise from the street, especially at night. I think the hotels on Isle de St. Louis and Isle de la Cite would be much quieter traffic-wise. Make sure you get a room with your own bathroom. In most three star hotels, this is the standard. Since all the monuments are so spread out, I'm not sure there is any one prime location to be in. If you're near the Lourve like we were (Rue de Richelieu), expect it to be extremely busy on the streets.

I think we really had the best luck booking with a travel agent, because we had a lot of things included in our package, including museum passes (with a pass, you don't have to stand in long lines), metro passes, and organized tours (though we skipped most of the tours. Paris is best explored on your own). There are a number of packages available through different companies. If I remember correctly, we went with a package from GoGo. We paid $1100 total, and with that we received:
--6 nights lodging at a three-star hotel (Jardin de Paris Lourve Hotel Cusset). Very clean, our own bathroom, TV in room, and maid service everyday with fresh towels and bed-making. We did not have a shower curtain in our bathroom, but this in not uncommon in Paris.
--transportation to and from the airport
--continental breakfast at the hotel each morning
--two Al a Carte passes (for one day, you can get into any museums or select monuments for free--you also get to bypass any lines with this card). These cards can also be purchased in Paris.
--Boat ride on the Seine.
--Guided tour of Paris (we skipped it).
--Tour of Versailles. (Missed this also, due to exhaustion from our travels.)
--Two Five-day metro pass (which we lost at the airport while running to catch our connecting flight. I was really bummed about that).

You can get hotel recommendations and even see some pictures at www.paris.com (http://www.paris.com) or www.paris.org. (http://www.paris.org.) Information and comments about the hotel we stayed in can be found at www.paris.org (http://www.paris.org) under the hotel section.

[This message has been edited by Danielle (edited 08-16-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Danielle (edited 08-16-2000).]

[Beth H]

Danielle, thanks so much for sharing your experiences in Paris. I'll plan on copying and saving your post for sure so that I can consult it as we begin to make more concrete plans.

[Laura B]

Thanks for all of the info. I will definitely be printing this thread for future reference. I think I have found the hotel for us. I sent in a reservation just in case, but can cancel at any time if the trip doesn't happen or we find a different place. It is the Hotel Brighton on Rue de Rivoli, facing Les Jardins Tuileries. So, our room will be overlooking a very busy street, but that is fine with me.

[Beth Y]

We were in Paris in September, and just got back from London and Spain last week. My one piece of advice, to add to Danielle's, is to carry some money in traveler's checks, for a backup, but otherwise an ATM card is the way to go. The machines are everywhere, the exchange rate is MUCH better and it is just easier and faster. You put your card in and it spits out the currency of whatever country you are in at the current rate with no extra charges (you always get charged and often a bad rate changing travelers checks). However, make sure your pin number has only 4 numbers, or it will not work in Europe.
Otherwise, my advice is not that far from Danielle's. My only differences would be to stay on the Left Bank away from the more touristy stuff, either in the 6th or 7th arrondisment, for the good shopping and restaurants. Also, we usually avoid restaurants recommended by a popular tour book. It will be full of other tourist holding the same tour book. Instead, look for the intimate bistros that are bustling with locals and have great smells coming out of them. Don't worry about not speaking much French. Speak what you can, do some sign language with the waiter (I am quite good at making cow, fish and chicken signals!) and use your French/English dictionary liberally. No one will rush you to order like in the US...just order a glass of wine and study the menu. Chances are, whatever you order will be great. And if you end up with headcheese or tripe, it will make a good story and you have a great excuse for ordering that chocalate dessert.

[Danielle]

I agree with Beth Y. If we had known beforehand, we would have booked a hotel on the Left Bank. I think we had been seduced by the romanticized visions of Paris that we see on TV, and were disappointed to discover that our hotel was smack dab in the middle of what felt like New York city. Where were the quiet streets and quaint bistros? Not so much on the Right Bank, that's for sure.

Laura B., my husband and I almost feel asleep in Les Jardins Tuileries! We arrived at our hotel at 9:30 a.m., but could not check in until 1:00, so we wandered aimlessly until we found ourselves in the garden near the Lourve. We sat for a spell in some metal chairs that were around the fountain, and we were so deliriously tired that we almost starting to doze. Our first day in Paris, and all we wanted to do was sleep. But the gardens were beautiful.

[Laura B]

So, Beth Y and Danielle, you guys would advise I NOT stick with the Hotel Brighton on Rue de Rivoli. I also have an option to rent an aprtment near St. Germaine des Pres on the left bank. It is right beside the vegetable market where picasso bought his food (according to the description). Maybe that would be a better choice and would give us more of a feeling of being in the Paris that Parisians know instead of toursity places. What do you think?

[Beth Y]

I would think the apartment in the St. Germain area would be better, but then I know nothing about that hotel or its location. Have you checked out Fodor's website. Go to the Europe Forum and do a search, or post and see if anyone has been there. They also have a rants and raves section for hotels listed in their book. Of course, keep in mind that what type of hotel people like and where you want to be is very subjective! If you want to be on a busy street, then that is what you should do. Just be prepared that there may be a McDonalds or a Gap next door!

[This message has been edited by Beth Y (edited 08-16-2000).]

[Danielle]

I guess it depends on what you like. If I remember correctly, Rue de Richelieu, the street our hotel was on, intersects with Rue de Rivoli, which runs parallel to the entrance of the Lourve. This was an extremely busy street, since cars could enter through this entrance. But you're hotel may not be located anywhere near this area, so who knows what it might be like? My husband and I were a little disappointed with the location of our hotel room at first, but because we spent such little time in our room, in the end it really didn't matter. But if a quiet hotel room in the "quaint" area of Paris plays strongly in the vision of what you want your trip to be like, maybe you should consider the apartment.

I do think, though, that if you have a really good deal at the hotel, and would have to pay more for the apartment, you should take that into consideration as well.

I'm not much help, am I? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Danielle (edited 08-17-2000).]