While in Paris, we stayed in the Montmartre district, in Hotel André Gill. It was a nice, quiet hotel, close to metro stops for two different lines. There were plenty of small restaurants, a 24-hour bakery, and a supermarket nearby. It was a bit close to Pigalle, which is the red-light district, but if you don’t wander too far, you shouldn’t have any problems. There are quite a few tourist shops on the closest main street, so you can have your fill of Eiffel Tower key chains, and hats that say Paris all over them. There’s a really really good pizza restaurant less than two blocks away from the hotel- search it out. It’s inexpensive and delicious.
The owners and clerks at the hotel speak very good English, and can help you figure out all of your various maps and brochures. There’s a room with a refrigerator (where we kept our cheese) and three computers that you can rent by the hour. They have a passable internet connection. The breakfast is continental (of course), which means they serve tea or coffee, baguette and croissants with butter and jam, and orange juice. They don’t seem to mind if you supplement a bit, as we did with our cheese and yogurt.
Hotel André Gill
4 Rue André Gill
75018 Montmartre, Paris
I also recommend the Paris museum pass. With this 2, 4, or 6 day pass, you can pay one fee to visit as many museums as your feet can bear. It’s especially helpful for visiting the Louvre, where you can skip ahead of the ticket lines (insanely long) by merely waving your card as you pass by. The pass is less expensive, of course, for students and adults under the age of 26. It covers 60 different museums and historical sites in Paris. It got us into the very warm and cozy tropical aquarium- the perfect place to visit in December.
The metro is very easy to use, with stops every few blocks, clear maps at every stop, and automated ticket machines in several different languages. It’s inexpensive (one euro 10 centimes for a ticket) and fast. It’s not too crowded, either, but on a few of the lines we encountered women begging with their children. My advice is to decide whether or not to give before you go- it’ll save you some grief.
I also advise you to exercise every day before you take your trip. Your days in Paris will be full of walking, standing in lines, and climbing the stairs in and out of the metro system. You think you’re ready, but you aren’t.
Our budget for each day needed a little tweaking once we saw what prices were like, but here’s what we came up with in the end- 10 to 15 euros for lunch, 15 to 20 euros for dinner, with maybe an extra 5 for wine. I recommend that you find a place that serves crêpes salé (salty or savory) and cidre (apple cider). It’s one of my favorite things to eat here in France, and there are plenty of restaurants in Paris that serve it.
Enjoy yourself while you’re there! Eat French food and drink some good wine. You’re in Paris, and you should take full advantage of the fact. Bon voyage!
Paris is so beautifull with the snow actually !