My husband and I have been avid travelers in Europe for decades. I went to Paris myself at age 18 and after we married in 1965 we began to travel to Europe on a regular basis. We even took our first child to Italy when he was 18 months old and had to bring Pampers with us because they weren't available overseas. After that trip, we were on hiatus from traveling overseas for various reasons, including money, or lack of it. Eventually, we bought a little apartment in Provence in 2006 and stayed there every spring and fall until 2016. In those days, we leased a car and drove to other parts of France as well as Italy. We took short flights from Marseille and visited other cities for short visits.
Over the years, we've taken some guided tours with mixed results. We have taken them when we were uncomfortable driving on our own. One example: we love the UK but were absolutely sure we could not handle driving on the "wrong" side of the road. We weren't sure about driving in Sicily, so again we chose to take a tour. Tours are convenient when they take you to interesting places, and sometimes the local guides are really excellent. However, we do hate having to wake up early and getting nasty looks from our fellow travelers because we may show up late and make them wait.
Last fall, we went to Florence and stayed there in an AirBnb for two weeks. We'd been in Florence several times before and knew we could get around on foot, especially when we could stop for an ice cream or a cafe when we were tired.
So here we are at 80 and a half, and still wanting to travel, but at our own pace. We love Paris, and would like to stay somewhere in a safe neighborhood convenient to some (not necessarily all) museums and other attractions. Also, although we can walk unaided, we need to stay in a place on the ground floor or one that has an elevator.
Any ideas for such a trip would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Land of La
9573 posts
Hotel Muguet
https://hotelparismuguet.com/en/
Has the elevator. Stroll to the Invalides and Rodin museum. Ecole Militaire closest metro.
Posted by
Boston
267 posts
I’m going to kindly disagree with Claudia. I have no doubts that the Hotel Muguet is lovely; it gets excellent reviews. However, it’s on the west side of the city and not near much except the Eiffel Tower and Invalides.
I think the OP might do better at somewhere like the Hotel Brighton. It’s an excellent hotel next to the Louvre, opening up many areas to walking distance.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
This is my first experience on the travel forum, so I'm not sure what the procedure is, but thanks to both people who responded to my query. The trip is in the future, but these suggestions are very helpful.
Posted by
Land of La
9573 posts
You’re welcome.
Posted by
1293 posts
We love the neighborhoods where the 6th & 7th meet up. Walkable to a metro line. And if you are app users, the absolute must is the G7 official Paris taxi app. If you get tired, you can request a taxi from wherever you are. Download and practice (without clicking the final click) so you become familiar, but it's so helpful in the city.