Stay inside or outside Paris?

Dear Kent,
I'm not sure the cost exactly. I've heard it's 15euro a day but I have to research that still. I'm mostly wondering which is more reasonable...stay inside with the car in the parking lot. Or stay outside, where we might save on the hotel, but take more metros into Paris...Thanks!

This is a bit of a complicated decision. Part of it is comparing the cost of the two options. But another part is the intangible value of the experience of being in Paris late at night and waking up in Paris in the morning, compared to having to face the commute back out of the city every night when you're tired. Another factor to consider: Unlike many cities such as London where hotel prices in the city center are high compared to the suburbs, in the Paris core area you can still get reasonably priced accommodations, thus there might not be as big a hotel cost difference as you might think. Another factor: Paris is geographically large and so another question is, what will be the Metro travel time, cost and distance to the location where you would stay if you picked the "outside of Paris" option.

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I think that is exactly what I wanted to know. I appreciate your response.

Many of the "business" hotels in the Accor chain offer parking at their Paris hotels....usually underground, so certainly safer than leaving it in an open lot for four days. Our favourite is the Ibis Place Cambronne hotel in the 15ieme arrondissement, right near the Place Cambronne metro station and about a 20 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. Not only that, but their room rates are very reasonable! Check www.accorhotels.com and you can always e-mail the hotels you like to ask about their parking charges. If you can't find an e-mail address on a specific hotel's info page, just look for the unique "hotel code" on the page, and send an e-mail to HXXXX at accor.com, where XXXX is the four-digit "hotel code."

Four days seems like a long time to have a rental car and not use it. Why not drop it in your destination before Paris, and pick up another one after? You definitely won't need it anywhere near Paris.

I would vote to stay in Paris as well. You don't need a daily commute just to get where you want to be! But you also don't have to stay right smack in the middle of the city either. Consider the outer arrondisments. I lived in the 15th for a few months and went into the city center daily and it took about 15-20 minutes I think. That's not too bad, and I would assume that hotels in the outer arrondisments would be cheaper.

Jenny, stay in Paris. I am so glad I am right in the middle of the city, with a metro stop 2 minutes from my door. I find it very hard to stay out and sightsee and do things all day long. I usually leave the house early in the morning, and then come back in the afternoon to put my feet up, eat, and get some peace and quiet. I find it very difficult to always eat outside in Paris, I get tired of it quickly, the amount of people on the streets is overwhelming. I love coming back to my studio, it faces the inner court and is absolutely quiet, whereas the street it is on is crazy crowded.

Ditch the car somewhere and stay in Paris !! That's why you're there and the experience is not the same when you leave at night. You also miss the early mornings which are as good as the evenings.

Jenny, stay in Paris, without the car. Parking in Paris can run to 20 -25 euros a day in some places. A car is totally unnneeded, in fact it hampers your experiencing the true essense of Paris.
I have relatives who live in Paris. They have a car,, to visit their daughter who lives in the country, but, they keep it in long term storage type car park ,, and only use it for holidays and the occaisonal weekend visit out of town. They are in their 70's and still walk everywhere , or take the bus.
If you park outside the city you will find cheaper car parks,, and the metro is hardly an expence. We always stay in a central location so that we only need to use the metro or bus a few times,,we walk every where else.

STAY IN PARIS, you won't regret it, even if you have to pay for the car in a parking lot.