I'm planning a trip to Paris for a couple of weeks. I'm a young professional traveling for pleasure. Should I make hotel reservations in advance...or am I able to walk in? I am interested in middle-of-the-road pricing/ accommodations. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Walking around with your luggage seeking a "middle of the road" priced hotel room seems rather pointless to me. Where would you begin your "walk ins"? Which arrondissement will you go to first? Will you just walk around looking for "HOTEL" signs up and down each street? Or do you have a couple of hotels in mind, in which case why not make a reservation. It is a puzzlement.
Rooms will be available, but I agree with Norma -- humping your luggage while looking for a place will be a pain in the neck. I routinely show up on the spur of the moment and have no trouble -- but I have a car to leave my junk in while I walk around a couple of blocks.
If you're determined to do it, pop above ground at Lux Gardens and walk north on St Germain (downhill) until Rue Soufflot opens up on your right (you'll be able to see the Pantheon at the end of the street). Turn right, then take your first left. This will be either Rue Le Goff or Rue Sorbonne (same street, but there's a name change and I can't picture where).
There will be a slew of hotels on your left as you walk by the university. If you haven't found one by the time you get to Rue des Ecoles, hang a right and walk to the end. Lots more hotels along the way.
They're all mid-range and the area is great. You'll find a room without a doubt, but the potential walk is close to a mile -- maybe a bit less.
If you want to get one ahead of time, try either the Cluny-Sorbonne or the Quartier Latin. The first is more convenient, I like the second better, and I've stayed in most all around there at one time or the other.
And don't forget to take into account fatigue after your long haul flight. I repeat, what actually is the point?
Kristine,
The answer may depend on when you'll be travelling to Paris. At peak holiday times or when there are conventions in town, it could be difficult to find a room on short notice.
As someone pointed out previously, you don't want to be stumbling all over the city after a long flight with luggage in tow trying to find someplace to sleep. That's the main reason I always pre-book my accommodations.
While you'll probably be able to find a room it may not be in the best area or in the price range you prefer. I'd suggest checking the France or Paris Guidebooks and getting a reservation locked down ASAP. That will give you some choices on both price and location.
Good luck and happy travels!
Absolutely agree, not sure how long your flight is but from east coast with travel to airport/check in etc and getting through customs in france to train to paris I am not in any way ready to cart luggage around to find a hotel/use Rick's books or ask on this site if anyone has recommendations
Why don't you just book the first 2-3 nights in the area closest to the attractions you most want to see, then decide from there? Use TA and RS recommendations to pick a well-rated, mid-range hotel. That way, if you happen to come across the perfect place for you, you can then walk in and see if they have availability for the rest of your vacation. Just be aware of the various times when the city is busiest and availability will be tight.
Kristine,
In the 1970s I made three trips to Europe traveling without any reservations for hostels, hotels, B&Bs and Pensionen, went by public transportation and walked around with the luggage looking for a place, usually the hostel but not always, all this after a flight from Calif. either into London or Paris. Sometimes spent half a day looking, going from place to place usually in the summer heat. I don't do this now mainly because it isn't a very efficient way of traveling in that you waste time, secondly, I don't have this type of energy to waste as I had in my twenties. Also, I am a good deal more picky as to the place I stay now, be it a hostel, Pension, B&B, or hotel. That's why I reserve.
In the summer being a walk-in has a greater risk of no room, but it depends on the cities and the particular district. I mean, if you're going to Munich as a walk-in during Oktoberfest, the chances of no rooms to your satisfaction are greater than if you went there in June.
Kristine,
A good place to look for a hotel is www.heart-of-paris-hotels.com. Click on the area map nearest where you want to stay -- Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc. -- and you'll get a list of hotels. You can email the hotel directly in English and reserve a room. We never use hotels that require one night's charges in advance. There are plenty that do not. There are numerous middle of the road priced hotels but we always have a reservation long before we arrive. Send me a private message and I can put you onto some really great bargains in great locations at very middle of the road rates, especially for one person.
Everything Fred said plus this. In the 1970's there weren't as many tourists and there was no internet. These days, most travelers book in advance, so there are fewer and fewer unreserved hotel rooms available.
There are several websites that have hotel reviews. Read them carefully, paying attention to the dates, and be aware that once in a while someone will plant a review or two (positive or negative). Most of the time you can get a really good idea of what to expect. For instance, I'm a light sleeper, so if there's more than one comment about noise.... If someone complains that the staff at reception were rude, I ignore it. The best sites I've found are Trip Advisor and booking.com I have booked hotels based on those reviews from Paris to Beijing to Auckland and haven't yet had a bad night.
We have stayed at the Le Littre Hotel (6th arron.) twice during the past year. We have been very happy with the hotel and its location. It is close to the metro and to the Hop-on, Hop-off bus. When we were just there from May 22 to June 10, we had a room on the top floor, which is the eighth floor. We had a balcony and a total view of the Eiffel Tower. We spent a lot of time out there watching the view from our balcony. It stayed light until 10:45 PM. We watched the flickering lights on the Eiffel, every hour from 10:00 PM on I think it is best to make reservations as soon as you know your schedule. Elaine
You definitely want to book ahead. Otherwise you will end up paying too much for substandard accommodations in a location that is far from where you want to be. No way do you want to waste half a day looking for a place to stay. In smaller towns you can walk up and get a room a good location, but we always book ahead to optimize for location, price, and quality. Also to save on time. The margin for error is just not that great any more, as things have gotten more expensive over the years. If you take a chance you will end up paying a large premium.
We are staying at a studio at the moment and really like it. Reasonably priced and good location.
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You didn't say when you are planning to go. My experience has been that smaller hotels only take reservations about 3 months ahead. The best ones fill up quickly.
If you are traveling solo, are you planning to get a single room or a double room? Single beds in France are somewhat wider than the standard US twin. Single rooms are cheaper than doubles. But single rooms tend to be much smaller than doubles and there are few of them.
