Bastille de Launay Hotel, Paris

Advantages: life
Disadvantages: quiet

...this is a famous square. in fact it harnesses eveything that there is to say about the french revolution (storming of the bastille) and their subsequent emancipation but this is by no means a beautiful place - rather it is a hustling and bustling round about. there is lots of traffic that continually circles around the great monument and this rather runins any detached aesthetic admiration - but then again this is a city and cities have life, this is a corner of parisian life and should be experienced as such, as a mass of people all eating drinking and doing business. go and have a look but it is not one for the tender tourist.... Read review

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Advantages: warm in summer, romantic, architecture, street cafes
Disadvantages: street entertainers wanting money for nothing, Hotel Favart

...My boyfriend and I travelled by Eurostar to Paris last summer and I can truly say it was the most wonderful holiday we have ever experienced. Disneyland Paris was the first stop and it is far more attractive than its American counterparts. We had to take the metro to Paris and carrying our luggage up four flights of escalators was a struggle, but it was worth it. Our first hotel was a great disappointment - Hotel Favart. It was a total dump and we were only allowed to leave and cancel our reservation after I flooded the lobby with tears. A very fast taxi journey took us to Hotel California on Rue de Berri, just of the Champs Elyesse. I will never forget turning the corner at the Place De la Concorde and seeing the Arc de Triomphe for the first time. Forget the Eiffel - Paris is about architecture and the Arc is incredible. I could go... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of culture, amazing food, easy to explore
Disadvantages: The wallet may take a bit of a bashing

...from Charles de Gaulle airport or Orly to central Paris is much more. If you book the Eurostar in advance you should get a cheaper deal as well. Ok, so you have arrived in a central station in Paris. Where do you stay? If you are looking for a nice hotel, 3 stars are usually of a good value and quality - nicer than the equivolant in Great Britain in my experience. Place de Clichy, Mercadet Poissoniers and Les Halles - I wouldn't recommend booking a hotel in these areas. They are quite seedy districts and often attract tourists on the internet due to cheaper prices and promises of being at the heart of Paris. Nicer areas that I would suggest would be the areas, Bastille, Bourse and Opera. Bourse and Opera are for the discerning traveller who wants to splash out a little. There are some lovely hotels there and the shopping opportunities... Read review

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