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Where to stay in Paris December end - early January?

Posted by on

Family of 3 including 13 year old child from USA visiting Paris for the first time from December 29 to January 5.

Planning to stay January 4th night at or around CDG airport as have 7 AM flight on January 5. Wonder if I stay in Paris city, will have to leave at 3 AM to reach CDG 3 hours before international flight unless forum suggests something different.

Wondering where to stay from December 29 to January 4. I can see it's more expensive till January 1 then hotel rates come down.

Wife wants to stay near Eiffel Tower but forums say to stay in St Germain or Latin quarter (but more touristy) or in Arrondisement 1 so that one could walk to many tourist attractions. I also read better to be close to metro station. We are comfortable taking trains and buses(read better take trains to avoid traffic with buses).

We plan to do day trip to Brussels, Belgium. Get a train early in the morning and come back by night during one of the days.

Would like to visit Palace of Versailles.

We are open to Boutique hotels or chain hotels like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott etc.

I am comfortable to spend €300 - €350 per night. €400 per night would be the limit.

I don't mind breaking my trip between 2 hotels in Paris as it appears no reservations are available from December 29 to January 1 near Eiffel Tower. I may have to choose January 1 - 4 near Eiffel Tower and December 29-January 1 in a different area.

Will appreciate forums input.

Thank You

Posted by
7301 posts

I would not change hotels for such a short stay!
Also, the Eiffel tower area is not as pleasant in the winter - the surrounding gardens can be cold and wet, and there a fewer cosy shops and cafés than in other parts of town. Your wife should be aware that staying in Saint-Germain des Prés (for example) only puts you 20-30 minutes away from the Champ de Mars: it's really no big deal!

I would not advise a day trip to Brussels either, for several reasons:

  • Thalys train tickets are expensive unless you buy in advance, but buying in advance exposes you to a risk of bad weather
  • The days are really short in late December, about 8 hours of daylight
  • Brussels in itself has some great sights, but most people do not find it to be an outstanding city to visit.
  • Brussels is very central in NW Europe. If you travel to Europe in the future, you are likely to pass through!
Posted by
14735 posts

I like the Eiffel Tower area although some here do not. One of the hotels I've stayed at does have vacancies for the early part of your trip but the room rates are really jacked up as they are over 500E/night. Look at the Relais Bosquet. I did not look at the prices for the last few nights to see if they come down enough to average out to your budget.

https://hotel-paris-bosquet.com/

Posted by
3989 posts

I think that changing hotels once during a 7-day stay is fine. I’ve done it many times. And happy wife, happy life. That being said, I do not dislike the ET area as much as some on this board but it would not be my first choice. Why does your wife want to stay there? If it’s so she can see the tower, you can see it from lots of parts of Paris that are more convenient for getting around to the usual tourist spots. I find Brussels slightly boring but if you do not know when you will be back in Europe and you want to see another city, it’s a good bet. Unfortunately, you are traveling during a period of high demand so your budget might limit you — triple rooms can be expensive. You may want to look at https://www.hoteldesmarronniers.com/en/. It is in a very touristy spot but it might be in budget. Also look at the three hotels on Rue Casimir Delavigne and see if any of them or the area appeals to you. One of my favorite hotels in Paris, https://www.hotel-paris-londres-eiffel.com/en/, is near the Eiffel Tower but I don’t know if they have triples.

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