Can anyone recommend a hotel near Gare de Nord for one night? I'm getting the impression from my research that the neighborhood isn't so great...we'd like to be close to the train station for easy access to TGV to Brussels the next morning (after 10 days in France). Marais or Montmarte are the closest districts but not really close enough to Gare de Nord. I appreciate any recommendations.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
There are several Ibis hotels not far from Gare du Nord. Ibis hotels are not expensive and perfectly fine for a one night stay.
Posted by
San Francisco
14507 posts
Hi,
For one night at Gare du Nord, how much do you want to spend? This is the area I always stay in.
Opposite of the station is the Kyriad, decent, but a little pricey The Kyriad is located across the street from Nord. Montmarte is at least a 30 mins walk away, depending on where. If you want more luxury combined with location there is the Mercure directly opposite of the station more towards the center. A large sea food restaurant is adjacent to the Mercure. Between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est is the Albert I, a 3 star Best Western, less pricey than the Mercure.
Posted by
Indianapolis
247 posts
I hated this neighborhood (I picked it because it was cheap) but its definitely not the most beautiful part of Paris. To date its the only place we've traveled in 10 countries of Europe that I hated.
The Pros:
Cheap accommodations
Close to train station
Good restaurants around here that are busy with locals. We enjoyed our meals here very much.
We had a room that faced the street and were able to see the night-time light shows on the Eiffel tower (just the tip top of it) from our hotel window.
The Cons:
Sex shops everywhere (I suppose for some people this would be a plus? lol)
Noisy at all hours of the night with people coming/going from the sex shops and bars/restaurants.
If you stay in a hotel with no air conditioning and need the windows open you will get literally no sleep...even with earplugs..at 3am...
Dirty! Paris near Gare Du Nord is to date the only place in Europe where I've seen actual human turds on the sidewalk. Seriously. Who poops on the sidewalk like an animal in a modern city?? Disgusting!
I checked on google street view and the hotel we stayed in appears to no longer be in business. (I'm not surprised as it was very run down with laminate wood floors and ceiling crumbling/rotting away in the bedroom from some sort of old flood from the room above. The shower had definitely been used as a urinal recently. The hotel staff was friendly at least and breakfast was standard fare and all fresh. Sadly the wonderful little restaurant we dined at twice appears to have changed hands as the name and decor are all different. :(
I blame staying in this area as the only reason I have not wanted to go back to Paris. :( Please take my advice and stay in a different area of the city. The districts Rick recommends highly in his guidebook are much nicer and don't cost much more. You'll be glad you opted for somewhere else even if it means stretching the budget a bit.
Posted by
San Francisco
14507 posts
Hi,
Gare du Nord is a junction point for the Metro, RER, buses, SNCF (TGV and regional trains) and the EuroStar, another big plus. It is functional, relatively cheap, and practical. Compared to the late 1980s, when I first got Gare du Nord, it's a lot better now. I thought it was more gritty then, or maybe I've gotten used to the place. If you want to avoid the crowded Metro lines, take the bus from Nord to Gare de Lyon or St Lazaire. Of course it has its pros and cons, the cons don't bother me. I'll be staying there towards the end of May this time too after that 10 hr flight from SFO. True, relative to other nationalities of tourists, Americans aren't seen there very often, which means Americans must avoid the area in the summer and choose somewhere else to stay.