FRANCE - Best of Europe 2014 - page 333

▲▲▲ ▲▲▲ Do-It-Yourself Floodlit Paris Taxi Tour

I recommend a loop trip that takes about an hour and connects these sights: Notre-Dame,
Hôtel de Ville, Ile St. Louis, the Orsay Museum, Esplanade des Invalides, Champ de Mars
park at Place Jacques Rueff (five-minute stop), Eiffel Tower from Place du Trocadéro (five-
minutestop),ArcdeTriomphe,Champs-Elysées,PlacedelaConcorde,andtheLouvre.The
trip should cost about €45 (taxis have a strict meter of €33/hour plus about €1/kilometer).

Sleeping in Paris

I've focused most of my recommendations in four safe, handy, and colorful neighborhoods:
the village-like Rue Cler (near the Eiffel Tower), the artsy and trendy Marais (near Place de
la Bastille), the historic island of Ile St. Louis (next door to Notre-Dame), and the lively and
Latin yet classy Luxembourg Garden neighborhood (on the Left Bank). Before choosing a
hotel,readthedescriptionsoftheneighborhoodsclosely.Eachoffersdifferentprosandcons:
Your neighborhood is as important as your hotel for the success of your trip.
You'll also find recommendations for good budget accommodations in two more neigh-
borhoods—MontmartreandalonglivelyRueMouffetard—plusafewbed-and-breakfastand
apartment-rental agencies, and suggestions for sleeping near Paris' airports.
Reserve ahead for Paris—the sooner, the better. In August and at other times when busi-
ness is slower, some hotels offer lower rates to fill their rooms. Check hotel websites for the
best deals.
Old, characteristic, budget Parisian hotels have always been cramped. Retrofitted with
toilets, private showers, and elevators (as most are today), they are even more cramped. Get
suggestions from your hotelier for safe parking (for parking basics, see here ) .

In the Rue Cler Neighborhood
(7th arrondissement, Mo: Ecole Militaire, La Tour Maubourg, or Inval-
ides)
Rue Cler, lined with open-air produce stands six days a week, is a safe, tidy, village-like
pedestrian street. It's so French that when I step out of my hotel in the morning, I feel like
I must have been a poodle in a previous life. How such coziness lodged itself between the
high-poweredgovernmentdistrict,theEiffelTower,andLesInvalides,I'llneverknow.This
is a neighborhood of wide, tree-lined boulevards, stately apartment buildings, and lots of
Americans. The American Church (see here ) , American Library, American University, and
many of my readers call this area home. Hotels here are a relatively good value, consider-
ing the elegance of the neighborhood and the higher prices of the more cramped hotels in
other central areas. And for sightseeing, you're within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower,