Paris Hotel near Gare du Nord? Or not?

Hi, what are your dates of travel ? Spring? Summer? Soon? Months from now ?

This is wonderful that you are taking your mother on this adventure. This will be a really special trip !

i honestly would not stay in the GdN area. It just does not feel the most salubrious to me. I stayed there back in 1973 (hahaha) and again in 1976 but I'd not do it now. I am not much of a city person (except Paris!!) but I prefer to stay in what feels to me like a less gritty area.

I like the 7th which is the neighborhood near the Eiffel Tower but many on the forum feel it's too far from other sites. I take the Metro with no problem and often will walk back to my hotel in the afternoon.

I don't know what your budget is (are you staying in GdN because it's less expensive?) but my 2 favorite hotels are Hotel Muguet and Hotel Relais Bosquet if they are an OK price point for you.

Were you planning to take the RER to the airport? I take my 75-year-old active self to the airport via taxi - fixed rate depending on which side of the river you are leaving from. I have taken the RER out to the airport to meet someone and it was pretty crowded. Not something I'd want to do with luggage. Your trip, your choice of course.

I'm planning a one night stay on arrival in Paris near the Gare du Nord or Gare de L'Est.
I'm looking at a couple of Ibis Hotels that have decent reviews and both seem to be within a less than 10 minute walk to the stations.
They seem to be on quieter (safer) streets.
I'm not going until late September, so can't swear they are any good.

https://all.accor.com/ssr/app/ibis/hotels/gare-du-nord-18-rue-de-dunkerque-75010-paris-france/index.en.shtml?compositions=1&stayplus=false&snu=false&hideWDR=false&productCode=null&accessibleRooms=false&hideHotelDetails=false&utm_term=mar&utm_campaign=ppc-ibi-mar-msn-ncac-en-seu-mix-sear&utm_medium=cpc&msclkid=f80140329a4d1a7d45ce27be90dabbd7&utm_source=bing&utm_content=ncac-en-FR-V2996

I wouldn't stay near the station for ease of return to CDG. For three of you including a 79-year-old, I would simply take a taxi to the airport the day of your departure.

At €13 per person for a ticket on the RER to go to CDG, that is 39€ for your party of three. If you are staying on the Right Bank, the fixed taxi rate is 56€ — only 17€ more. That's less than 6€ per person more than the cost of the RER and its hassles to be driven door-to-door from your hotel to the airport.

Taking the RER to the airport when you are a party is a false economy. Heck, it can be a false economy even if you're alone ! But definitely with a party of three.

Look for somewhere else in Paris to stay.

I was booked by someone else at the Mercure Paris Gare du Nord a year ago. My stay was a week long. I would not have booked myself into that hotel or nor will I stay in that area if I can control the booking. There are more pleasant areas in Paris to stay.

Comments:
Area - I know the area very well and wouldn't have booked it myself. It was convenient for the station and Eurostar - I assume the person doing the booking was considering that aspect of my travel. As a solo female, I would not have felt very comfortable returning to the hotel after dark. Nor is it an area where I would want to sightsee or wander around. My schedule didn't require late returns to the hotel and I had daily commitments in other areas of Paris, so I was OK with the circumstance.

Young men hanging around the nearby Metro stops at most hours and on the street. I held onto my valuables, ignored them, and walked past. I was not harassed but noted that I ws definitely "observed" on a couple occasions.

Hotel - The hotel itself was acceptable. Clean but small room, even by Paris standards. Many of the guests seemed to be business travelers by attire in the breakfast room and by the in and out schedules I observed.

I am an Accor high status traveler - been all over the world with Accor. I would not consider this property representative of other Mercures In which I have stayed.

Another nice area to stay is near the Luxembourg Gardens. I wouldn’t stay near the Gare du Nord in your situation on your mother’s first trip to Paris.

If this stay is the first for your elderly mom (they are only a few years my senior), then I would not choose Gare du Nord. Then it also depends on her degree of adventure.

I always stay at Nord choosing from 4 different hotels now since it's super convenient as to the buses, the trains, and 2 Metro lines, plus I know the area very well, used to it, and am totally comfortable walking around , never any problems on the streets; it's an area with numerous grocery stores and eateries of diverse cuisines.

In the summer when I am there, numerous tourists are there filling up the hotels but very few Americans relative to other nationalities, lots of French, obviously, too.

Keep in mind too both in Nord and Est numerous security are patrolling or standing in front of businesses.

Thank you all for the sound advice. It is what I expected to hear about the area surrounding Gare du Nord but I asked to confirm. We will seek a hotel in another right bank arrondisement (last year we stayed near Bastille). And I am thankful for the wisdom of just taking a taxi to the airport, as its more economical for 3 people. Our trip is in May 2025 so I'm a bit behind on the reservations but I'm sure we will find something.