best neighborhood in paris?

Jessica,

You can try the Latin Qtr and Hotel Grand Ecoles. I've stayed in both Rue Cler & Latin Qtr and have been pleased with both.

http://www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com/

Rue Cler is good for what you're looking for. Also Latin Quarter and Marais. You'll probably only sleep in one neighborhood, but that doesn't prevent you from enjoying the others.

Paris has much to offer virtually everywhere. We stayed in the Marais- a wonderful area. The area near Gare du Nord is not terrific but it is serviceable and the Metro is never far. The Latin Quarter is very nice and the Jardin du Luxembourg not to be missed. Those things said enjoy all of Paris. It will not matter where you stay

I really like the 6th, ( St Germain) as well as 4th and 5th.

http://www.vacationinparis.com/index.html

Jessica, you may find one of these attractive...[above web site] This company is owned and located in the USA. It appears to manage the Paris apartment properties of (mostly) Americans. You would have the key to your Paris apartment before you leave Saint Paul... bon voyage! ... P

I have been in and out of Paris ten times in the last few years and always stay in the Rue Cler area. Besides being an area with such nice ambiance it has superb access to anywhere you want to go. The Metro station Ecole Militare is right in the middle of the area ... one to three blocks from almost any hotel. Plenty of nearby excellent restaurants, five blocks at most to Eiffel Tower, two short metro stops to The Invalades and Rodan Museum, three metro stops from east-west Metro Line one which gets to any one of the big sisites of Paris (Louvre, Tuilleries Garden, Grand Palace, Champs-Elyses, Grand Arch, LeDefense, Notre Dame).

You can buy an orange metro pass for 15 euros which is good for unlimited rides for a week (Monday thru Sunday)and your set.

I've been to the the Left Bank and Marais areas, both nice, but they too are easily accessed from Rue Cler.

I will be in Paris Christmas week and am staying at the Beaugency Hotel right in the middle of Rue Cler for 90 Euros.

The Hotel Muguet in Rue Cler area is excellent too. I stayed there last December. Two blocks from the metro station also.

Jessica,

In addition to Paul&Sara's notion --check this out http://www.dalloyau.fr/Anglais/b_luxembourg.html it will be close by the gardens.

Enjoy!

Craig

I think the Rue Cler was the only area in Paris that we were disappointed in. I don't know if it was an off day or not, it was kind of cold and only some of the shops were open. It was in October though. We stayed in the Marais and it had a good night scene(not as happening as the latin quarter though). We payed 66 euros a night at the MIJE(see RS guidebooks) in the Marais and they were nice enough.

Jessica, we stayed in the area RS calls "near the Canal St. Martin." He says it's the least touristy of the neighborhoods he recommends. We visited the Rue Cler area on the day we went to the Eiffel Tower & Military Museum, and were glad we didn't stay there. I'm sure it depends on what you like, but we felt like it was more like Disneyland -- geared to tourists. The area we stayed felt more like we were where French people live and afforded us lots of fun experiences. Interestingly, we ran across some RS tour group members at the Louvre, and they were staying in our area as well, though closer to the Bastille.

I don't have a hotel recommendation -- we couldn't get into the ones we wanted (in Sept.), and this one had pluses and minuses (primarily the mildewed shower curtain--not an uncommon problem). On a subsequent trip to Paris, we'll probably try to book in the same area earlier or try the Marais.

We spent a fantastic 2 weeks in the Marias. We found an apartment in the middle of everything on vrbo.com and could not have been happier. We thought the restaurants in the Marais were better and the atmosphere livelier than those we visited in the Rue Cler.