Paris- hotels, flights, etc

I've flown into both Orly and CDG. Orly is smaller, closer and easier. CDG, is more impressive. I fly to where I can get the best price and itinerary. In terms of lost language, I travel with a rolling,carry on suitcase, and I'm very, very hesitant to checking luggage, especially at the start of my trip. I pack very light. I'd rather have fewer clothes and shoes and be better able to move around.

I have not stayed at your hotel. I would look at multiple sources for reviews. I look at reviews in terms of what is important to me. I do like a clean bathroom. I like an included breakfast (if possible). I like a comfortable bed in a good location. I don't care if the furnishings or building is "dated". I really like to stay in the Latin quarter. I would probably like St. Germain more, but Latin quarter, for me, tends to be more budget friendly. I'm not sure that I personally would enjoy staying on the right bank though I may some day try the Marais. On left bank I have stayed at Hotel Familia. It certainly is dated but typically priced right. Bathrooms are clean. Staff is friendly and very helpful. It's in a charming, Parisian style building on a cute street. It is classified as 2 star. I spend very little time in my hotel or room. If its clean and smells ok, I'm good. The area I stay in is fairly quiet even in a room overlooking the street (which I love). I do bring earplugs for noisy situations.

Edit: i was writing while jules posted and Kent’s post has disappeared...

Kent is right, being central would be much better, especially for your first visit. Notre Dame is considered the center of Paris, as close to there as possible is my preference. Paris is dividided into areas called “arrondissements”, my favorites are in this order: the 4th arrondissement (Marais and Ile St Louis), the 5th (Latin Quarter) and the 6th (St Germain).

Check booking.com for hotels, and read reviews.

I hope you have a nice visit!

It would be a good idea to get a guide book. Paris is very easily navigated with public transportation, including from both airports. CDG is not far away, so either airport would be fine. As for areas in which to stay, you could get a good description of the different arrondissement in a guidebook and see which suits you. I have enjoyed the Marais, Latin quarter, and St Germain areas. I think the hotel you mention would be ok to stay in for an additional first night; it is on the perimeter of the city, so will require a metro ride into the center where most of the sites are, but this is easy. I would start with a guidebook. Rick's are good, especially for a first visit. You will feel much more oriented after reading and then have more detailed questions. I cant respond about specific hotels as we have always stayed in Airbnb's
(we were there for the Tour 2 years ago - its a lot of fun ;)

As Susan and the others have already said--that hotel is relatively far out for sight-seeing in the historic center, which is part of the fun of visiting center (having a well located hotel).
(Susan, I was editing my post and accidentally deleted it; and then I saw you had said what I wanted to say and then some!)
:-)

Getting a guidebook would be very helpful, as jessica said. I recommend Rick Steves Paris for a first time visit.

Delta's got non-stops to CDG and I would go with that. You might be able to get a cheaper fare by doing a route with a stop at another Delta hub but really you have to balance out time vs money. There are also some British Air routings and also Icelandic.

Orly is the secondary hub - I didn't think there were any trans-Atlantic flights so took a look. I only see one in to Newark on La Compagnie. You could probably force a routing thru there if you took a flight from Seattle to say, Amsterdam but why would you?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orly_Airport

For your arrival day, I stay at the tour hotel to simplify things and not have to make a move.

At the end I would find a better located hotel for your extra days

Kent, so good to see you posting.
I missed you. What you wrote is true, staying in a central hotel is so much nicer than staying far away on a first visit (and all visits for me... : )

It looks like Delta has two flights a day from SEA to CDG. For the return flight, I would pick the one that leaves at 1:10 PM Paris time - this would give you more time to get the airport, and would make th end of the trip more relaxing. On our last trip we stayed in the 5th arrondissement, and were able to walk to the train hat goes to the airport (RER B).

Susan, how kind of you to say that. It's great to be back.

Icelandair uses Orly frequently(but does use CDG, as well). I believe Icelandair flies out of Seatac?? As nice as Icelandair can be, you change plans in Reykjavik. When the rate is good, I like to fly Delta because they fly direct to Paris and they fly to CDG.

Kent, so glad you’re back. I always enjoy your posts. You’re a forum gem.

Thanks for the replies! I have actually requested Rick Steve's Paris guide book for Christmas :)

We've been to Europe a few times but always with a connection, so the direct route to Paris sounds very appealing to us.

Jessica- I like Airbnb and have used this quite a bit here in the states. I noted on another thread that in Paris, they need to show a 13 digit registration # to be legal. I did a cursory search the other day and had difficulties finding something budget friendly that had A/C and a real bed, but I may keep looking. Can you give me any suggestions on where you stayed, as well as any other Airbnb tips for Paris?

Yes, I think I may stay at the tour hotel when we fly in to make things easier. Jules- I agree with you in terms of prioritizing a comfortable bed and breakfast vs. dated furnishings, but the reports of broken shower heads, clogged drains, and a non-working A/C at this hotel certainly did not impress me!

Hi Cindy, I live in the Seattle area, and we love being able to take a non-stop to fly to Paris. Delta or their codeshare team, Air France, fly that route.

For the hotel listed, I would definitely pick a different hotel for the end of your trip, and I would also pick a different one for Day 1. Otherwise, you’re going to go all of the way out to your hotel and then likely take the metro back into the center of Paris to walk around. Then on your second day, you will want to head back into the center - wasted time back & forth. When you meet up with the group (probably late afternoon), you can check into that hotel. Your first hotel will hold your suitcases for you while you’re enjoying everything close by at the hotel you’ve picked that’s in the center of the city.

I aim to stay in any of the arrondissements (neighborhoods) numbers that are less than 10. I’ll just throw out one hotel name to get you started - Le Petit Chomel, in the 7th arr. but there are numerous options you can find on Booking.com.

If a hotel is planning to begin renovating in April, they could be in the midst of it when you’re there. Another reason to select a different option for your personal days. Enjoy Paris! It’s a wonderful city! If your tour doesn’t provide a night cruise on the Seine River, be sure to do one (not the dinner cruises) during your last days. It’s a wonderful city to enjoy the beautiful buildings lit at night from the river and see the Eiffel Tower from the water, also.

I wouldn't call the area around Porte de Versailles a business district but the convention center is on the other side of the street from the hotel. Otherwise, the surrounding area is residential with a good number of restaurants and cafés. Métro 12 is right there and will take you directly to Place de la Concorde in about 15 minutes. 3 months into the renovation might mean that the rooms will all be refurbished but it might also mean that you can find special pricing for staying at the hotel during the renovation. You won't be at the hotel during the day anyway and that´s when construction will be the most annoying.

If you arrive on the 14th, which I believe is a Sunday, just a few blocks to the north will be the Convention market on rue de la Convention, which is one of the best in the city in my opinion. Just follow rue de Vaugirard and few blocks and you cannot miss the marché.

I would really just stay two nights at the Mercure to start your trip but call the hotel directly to add to your stay. Calling the hotel directly should get you the best price.

On your return to Paris, I would look maybe in the Latin Quarter, St Germain des Prés, or the Maris for a hotel for the 3 nights you are there. As it's the first of August and low season for hotels, you should be able to get a good deal if you check around. Many hotels have interesting promotions for those visiting in August. Again, call any hotel directly or check their website for promotions.

Orly would only be about a 20 minute (assuming minimal traffic) ride to Mercure hotel. Fares are fixed at 30€. From CDG, plan on more than double that time and a fixed fare of 55€. I always use ORY when I can but you will probably find few flights from any US gateway to ORY. Almost all transatlantic flights use CDG.

https://www.ratp.fr/en

This official guide to Paris rapid transit includes interactive planning to set up your travel routes. Your proposed hotel is barely inside the ring road that defines central Paris. To get to mid-town locations, for instance the Louvre, will require a 30-minute ride. But on your jet-lagged first day you probably won't do more than one major visit. The convenience of being where you need to be to start your tour is a major argument in favour of the Mercure for both nights.

Best site for airline information -- no site has every flight -- is matrix.itasoftware.com

Use its schedules to book directly from your chosen carrier.

Thanks for all the extra info. I was just researching flights into CDG from Seattle. With the time difference, if we leave July 14, we won't arrive in Paris until the 15th, which is when the tour officially starts. The tour package includes airport transfer on the 15th, and the flight I'm looking at arrives around 8am. (We forfeit transfers if we arrive and leave on different dates.) With the jet lag, we can simply veg out and visit the Convention market that was mentioned, before meeting with the tour group later in the evening to go over the Tour de France program. Should I assume it would be rare for our luggage to be misplaced on this direct flight, or am i being naive?

So I believe it will be better to simply add another night onto Paris at the back end and stay 4 nights vs. 3.

My goodness, just looked more closely at flights by Delta and Air France. They are really nickel and diming! Delta's basic seats don't give assigned seats or free check in bags, whereas Air France's basic seats don't include free check in bags. That is really annoying on an international flight, and bumps the prices to $1329 per person for what I always considered to be BASIC treatment!

How soon do I need to book these tickets and do you think prices may drop at all?

thanks again!

The marché on Convention is on Sundays. There are no open markets in Paris on Mondays.

One strategy you might consider is to leave Saturday or even Friday when flights may be cheaper, pay for an extra night(s) at the hotel, and take a taxi from the airport (fares are fixed at 55€). Depending upon airfares, you may find it cheaper overall to stay longer in Paris. It's just something you need to evaluate when you actually purchase tickets.

We had a great experience at Hotel Marais Paris Caron de Beaumarchais in the 4th Arrondissment. Charming, well appointed, delicious breakfast, and walking distance to Notre Dame and and neighborhood restaurants. We spent 5 nights and had a larger room on an upper floor with a balcony.
We too flew out of Seattle!

Wrt Airbnb's, I have looked for places that fit our budget and sleeping needs (5 ppl) and then check that it has a number. Paris has really cracked down in the last two years, and since I wasn't there last summer (2018), I don't know how availability has been affected

As for the flight price, it is possible to get less expensive flights, but you trade time for money, or convenience for money, as someone said. Are you looking on google flights? You can possibly find cheaper flights using their date grid where you can see a month of departure and return dates cross-referenced. Sometimes the different between one or two days can be hundreds of dollars. Same for flying into another airport first, as someone else suggested (and which you can also play around with on google flights). Our airport is too expensive, so we decided how far we would rive for cheap flights and then we check those airports. But again, we are willing and able to give up a lot of convenience for money (which is how we can afford to travel internationally with 5 ppl in the first place). We also carry on our luggage, so the luggage fees don't bother us.

Then there's my best friend (from Seattle), upon returning from a big family trip to Europe, who said that among the many things she learned was that "there's a difference between 4 and 5 star hotels" (Lol). This is now a meme in our family. We all cracked up - my kids are happy to each get a bed ;p

I doubt if the fares will get any lower. Yes, nickel and diming is the name of the game now. I don't know of any nonstops from SEA to ORY, use CDG. I've never had a lost or seriously delayed bag since 1968. Arriving in the morning of the day the tour starts, just go to the tour hotel and explore the market and surroundings if you have the energy. Good advice from others about more central hotels for your post-tour time in Paris -- the more days the better.