It seems that first-timers are too concerned with finding a place "near" something in a major city. It also seems that most replies come from second-timers who rave about places they stayed. A different philosophy could well result in a far more rewarding travel experience. I'll use Paris as an example, only because I know it about as well as my own home town. New travelers have tunnel vision on Rue Cler. (Not really Paris, but what Americans think Paris should be. Hotels on the high end, eateries mediocre, produce and fruits no better, but more expensive, than lots of other places around town. Above all, it's not close to the majority of the sights -- except for the ET, and you can see that from anywhere.) Assuming a double room costs $200 and food for two runs another $100, that's $900 for three days. A $70 room on the periphery and the same food cost equals about $500 for three days, or more than two more days in the city for the same amount of bucks. That works for me. Travel time should be spent looking at stuff. You're in a room to shower and sleep. Once your eyes are closed, all rooms look pretty much the same. Two hotel experiences come to mind. One was sitting on the wall munching bread and cheese outside a small place on the north side of town talking to a gal from Romania, a couple from Perigueux, and a guy from Tel Aviv. The other was in the dark-panneled lobby of a "charming" place that somebody "just loved" talking to a dolt from Podunk, Midwest, who had a camera around his neck, a guidebook clutched in his hand, and a map sticking out his shirt pocket telling me about a place he'd just discovered that had "marvelous crepes" and a small shop where the proprietor spoke a little english -- have no idea what he bought there, I was too busy smiling politely while trying to escape. Put your trip into perspective; airfare is a good chunk of change, wring the most time out of your bucks as you can while you're actually on the ground.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
Right now, according to Oanda.com, €69 is over $100.
Last Sept, I spent 2 nights in a hotel in the outskirts of Munich for €54 per night. In the intervening day I went to the Deutsches Museum, 25 min by S-Bahn from where I was staying. One of the best priced, similar hotels I have found in Munich would have charged €69 for an equivalent room and was 5 min by S-Bahn from Deutsches Museum. I don't think an extra 20 min on the S-Bahn for a €15 savings was so bad.
Posted by
Madison, WI, USA
524 posts
Yes, I get it, I get it, I get it. Going to Rue Cler you are more likely to run into Americans than Parisians. Or as you so eloquently put it...Podunk, Midwesterners...eh,hem!
But if as you say, you really only sleep and shower - than does it really matter if you are not at THE place to be? And all I really mean is that people have their own reasons for picking areas maybe.
I have only been to Paris once and I plan on returning...but yeah, I wanted to be near the Eiffel Tower. And I loved it. I have no regrets. I wanted to be where the landmark of Paris is and be easily reminded where I was. I wanted to be able to say to myself (quoted from another famous traveler)..."clearly life is not sucking" as I walk the streets.
The nice thing about Paris is the Metro's are abundant and easy, so you can be anywhere and fast.
We hopped all over Paris and quite frankly I did the vast majority of my inter-mingeling with others at whatever cafe or lunchstop I was at. So, I guess what I am saying is - don't be quick to judge the hotel choice as some cocooned, sheltered tourist who is afraid to see anything other than familiar Americans. We experienced a lot and talked to a lot of different people.
Would I stay near Rue Cler again...maybe. I certainly don't have any complaints.
Posted by
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
430 posts
On our first few trips my wife and I never stayed in the high end hotels in the trendy area, and we likewise never stayed on the periphery.
We typically stayed in the Red Light District or in the unimproved district near the train station. In both cases, for different reasons, you can get that $70 room right near the attractions.
For example, soutwest of the Ratzhaus outside Blumenstrasse in Munich are 3-4 blocks of Pensions, some listed by Rick, that were all under $70 for a double as of 2005. Why? No elevator, no phone in the room, no TV and no air conditioning. Who cares? We travel in spring and fall, and are in the room to sleep. Another example? The Red Light District in Frankfurt. Just a half dozen block from the main train station, but looks seedy (and is seedy, watch yourself) so hotels there are cheaper. Laws prevent the extracurricular activity from going back to the hotel floors, so no concerns there (I would not recommend this option with children in tow).
Posted by
Seattle, WA
689 posts
Hey, thanks for telling me how my travel time "should be" spent! I'll have to remember only to "look at stuff," and not to care about where I eat, and that I shouldn't care about the quality or location of hotel. Gosh, I had such good memories of great restaurants and charming hotels in Paris--and--GASP--in the 7th near Rue Cler!--but now I know how misguided I was. Thanks!
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2776 posts
Christy, so are you funny. I agree with you.
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ, USA
1035 posts
"Above all, it's not close to the majority of the sights -- except for the ET."
Really, I can name a dozen sights within a 30 minute walk -- a half dozen within 15 mins. And neither list includes the EF.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
Everyone's different when it comes to travel, there's no right or wrong, but I would not enjoy your way of traveling. I know Paris really well too and love it. I've lived there and vacationed there many times. I've stayed in budget hotels and $275/night hotels. My favorite is the $275/night on Ile Saint Louis and will return again and again. That's how I like to travel now. That hotel, in the heart of Paris, is pure heaven to me. There are neighborhoods I like a lot better than rue Cler and wish Rick would stop emphasizing rue Cler, but it's still a beautiful part of Paris and has a lot going for it. I would never, ever stay in a hotel on the periphery of Paris!! That would make my blood run cold. I spend a lot of money to get there and BE there and I want to feel like I'm IN Paris...I want the view out my window that says "PARIS!" to me. I want to feel like Paris is enveloping me like a blanket...and I want to be in the heart of the place I love and adore. Knowing I can step out my hotel's door and be right on the street and the island I love (Ile Saint Louis) is worth every single penny to me and the reason why I go. So you see, we all value different things when we travel.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"Or as you so eloquently put it...Podunk, Midwesterners...eh,hem!" I would more accurately describe them as Ricknicks flashing the dreaded blue book sign.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
I wish people would start to report expenses in Euro, which is a fairly reliably constant number, rather than in USD, which is subject to major currency fluctuations and, therefore, pretty irrelevant.
In 2005, the average exchange rate was $1.245/€. That makes a $70 room then €56, $82 today, $84 a few weeks ago, who knows how much next summer.
Posted by
maplewood, new jersey, usa
818 posts
For us .... Location, location, location.
Finding a centrally located hotel is our number 1 concern. Doesn't have to be fancy at all but must be in a neighborhood with restaurant options and a bar or two. Personally, my family (2 adults and 1 child) loved staying at Hotel Levesque on Rue Cler and being that it was February we didn't see any other tourists. I choose to travel off season when ever possible and always pick a centrally located hotel. Staying on the perifery to me is like visiting New York City and staying in Maplewood, NJ.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
I, too, like to be where I want to be when I walk out my hotel door. I don't want to have to ride anywhere just to go to the bakery or the neighborhood bar for my morning coffee. Rue Cler, the Marais, Montmartre, have been neighborhoods that I like. I stayed near Republique Metro a couple of times, but didn't like the neighborhood.
Posted by
Sacramento, California, United States
253 posts
Hmmm. You know, I would venture that we all were travelling dolts from Podunk, Somewhere, USA at one time, but we got over it. This guy clearly did not get any guidance from you, however, to expand his horizons.
To think you actually talked to people from Romania, Perigueux, and Tel Aviv while travelling in Europe!!!
Do you want me to list the hundreds of people from all parts of the non-US world I have talked to during my travels? Or other, less experienced Americans, who I talked to as well and guided to better enjoy their time while in Europe? Or better still, the countless other Americans similar to your pal from Podunk, who was just excited to be there, seeing something new and experiencing it for the first time, had to expand on what he had done?
I can speak a little English as well, but I can listen to another traveller any time without judging them for being in the exact same place you are at the same time.
Posted by
Sacramento, California, United States
253 posts
Oh, and to be on topic a bit more, we never stay anywhere but as close to the center as possible, we never pay what apparently is the high end expense for our room, and frankly I would have no idea what to do on the outskirts of Paris. The action is along the Seine and near the Ile de la Cite'. The burbs are for the citizens, not the tourists.