Paris Hotels

Every time my wife's grandparents travel to Paris, they stay at the Hotel Bonaparte. When we prepared to head to Paris for our honeymoon, we followed their lead and book a room for three nights at the Hotel Bonaparte. The combination of price, location (in the heart of the upscale Latin Quarter), and charm (the same family has welcomed guests for four generations) is hard to beat. My wife and I love to walk and we could easily get to the big Paris attractions (The Louvre, Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower) within a half hour. For those who prefer buses or subway, a bus stop is 50 meters from the hotel door and two metro stops are just down the street. If you travel one block east (to Rue des Canettes), a row of delicious and affordable restaurants cater to most palettes.

The Hotel Bonaparte ranks as a 2 star hotel and the worn interior is clear the moment you enter. However, the staff keeps the rooms very clean and our bathroom was clearly renovated (including a big tub for soaking). The manager remembered my wife's grandparents (even though it has been years since they stayed there) and was extremely helpful when it came to planning a walking tour or picking a restaurant. Everyone we encountered who worked at the Bonaparte spoke from functional to excellent English and were always eager to help. The croissants were a highlight of the wonderful breakfasts enjoyed in the quaint dining room or served to your room by a real French maid (complete with outfit).

If you are looking for a charming, quiet hotel in Paris that is comfortable enough for grandparents yet affordable enough for a young couple, give the Bonaparte a chance to impress you.

Just outside of Paris city limits, the steep Montmartre hill rises out of the northern part of the Right Bank, drawing artists and visitors since the end of the 19th Century. Still an active epicenter for artists, artistic culture and a bohemian life-style, the area has retained its deliciously sordid atmosphere and revelry. Many of the great artists of our past, including Dalí, Monet and Picasso, used Montmartre at one point or another for a working and living retreat from the confines of other more rigid societies of the time.

In the late 1800’s, Montmartre became a popular drinking area, thanks in part to the local nuns who made wine and in part a lack of Paris city taxes in the Montmartre. The neighborhood never shook this attitude and feel, confirmed over the years by the steady presence of artists in both studios and on the streets. Exhibitions at the Musee de Montmartre usually feature works of artists associated with the area and the Espace Montmartre Salvador Dalí displays over 300 works by the surrealist painter and sculptor. Montmartre is also associated with the grandiose Sacre-Coeur, a Romano-Byzantine Catholic basilica dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus.

If you are feeling more boisterous than studious, the area still has good excuses for fun. Former literary haunt Au Lapin Agile, or “The Agile Rabbit,” is now one of numerous Montmartre clubs and the famous Moulin Rouge nightclub is also in the vicinity. The Moulin Rouge  (French for Red Mill or windmill) was built in 1889 and retains the splendor of turn-of-the-century France in its décor and atmosphere. This traditional cabaret still provides musical dance entertainment for adult visitors looking to have fun and let their hair down.

If you are looking for an excellent, conveniently located budget hotel in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris close to easy walks down the Camps Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, the Elysees Opera Hotel is the best one I’ve found in the center of Paris.

As with the typical Parisian (and European) hotel rooms, these are on the small side, but are entirely practical, comfortable and very clean. As well, the rooms have all been renovated for modern comforts. The atmosphere at the hotel is warm, in both temperature and friendliness of the staff. I found the staff to be very helpful and kind, which is such a wonderful aspect of a hotel.

To top off the comfortable stay, we thoroughly enjoyed the delicious buffet breakfast (served in the breakfast room) and had a fantastic time chatting over cocktails at the hotel bar one evening before heading out for a walk and dinner. Another plus for the Elysees Opera Hotel, as I already mentioned, is the location.
In addition to the proximity of some of Paris’ most desirable tourist locations, the hotel is very close to two metro stops on two different lines, including one that will get you to the city center in about 10 minutes. If you happen to be staying over a weekend, be sure to make time for the Saturday food market that is held at the end of the street—that was an unexpected and fun experience.

The Hotel Lotti is right in the heart of Paris’ jewelry district in the 1st Arrondissement in between the Tuileries Gardens and the Place Vendome. This lovely little hotel not only boasts a great location for sightseeing or shopping in the heart of Paris (the rue du Faubourg Saint Honore, the Opera House and the Louvre Museum are all literally minutes away), but also offers a lovely, thoughtfully decorated place to stay in Paris.

Many of the rooms (including ours) face the Rue de Castiglione, but we found the street noise to be remarkably minimal. The spacious (this is Europe after all) hardwood-floored rooms came complete with a comfortable bed and nice amenities in the bath: robes, slippers, heated towel racks and good water pressure. We didn’t have breakfast at Hotel Lotti, instead choosing to explore the abundance of world-class eating all around us in the 1st Arrondissement. If your feet fail you after too many days of walking, the Hotel Lotti is very near Tuileries Station on Metro Line 1 (Champs Elyseses Grand Palais, Arch de Triumph Bastille).

Before you get too tired to walk, make sure to pass through the Tuileries Gardens (Jardin de Tuileries) as you are heading to the area around the Louvre

The Mercure Paris Montmartre right in the heart of Bohemian Paris is a straightforward, clean and friendly location to base yourself during a visit. Despite what you may be thinking about the location, right around the corner from the legendary Moulin Rouge near Place de Clichy in the Montmartre district, the Mercure Paris Montmartre is a safe and comfortable place to travel to and from. We found neighborhood excursions to be entirely enjoyable at most any hour of the day. The Mercure Paris Montmartre is right in the midst of great shopping and eating just down the hill from the Sacre Coeur, one of the best places in Paris to snap some photos. There is also a nearby underground station.

The rooms at the Mercure Paris Montmartre are nothing out of the ordinary but they are quiet (our room had a double door so interior noise was practically nonexistent) and clean. The staff is extremely friendly and their level of English was generally more than enough to get across what we need. The morning buffet breakfast is good enough to get your through the first few hours of the day but you should try to either get there early or arrive after 9:00-9:30 to avoid a bit of a crowd.

We book our Parisian accommodations with the intention of having a clean, quiet place to sleep off our long days of walking and exploring. The Mercure Paris Montmartre was a perfect fit.