h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Preferably top class, right in the centre and costing next to nothing.

The Timohotel montmatra is a lovely hotel is a picturesque square with a view of the Sacre Coer
It costs £30 a night (extra for the view but all have balconies.)
I found it in the Bridge Paris brouchure.
Their website is www.bridgetravel.co.uk

I have been to Paris twise with Bridge and they are fantastic, they give you free river cruises and guide books.

Hope that helps.
Paris is my Fav city have a fantastic time!
When are you going?

If you want really cheap place there is the Hotel Wagram which is down a sweet market street off the Champs Elysees really close to the l'arc de Triomphe.
The rooms there are oly £20 a night but are fine just like a B&B really depends if it is a romantic trip or not.

Take care
I am being harrassed by a sleezebag in the library where I am working the late shift!
Help me!!!!!

I honestly don't know any hotels in Paris to recommend... However, if I'm heading for somewhere in France and I don't know the area I tend to stay in either Mercure or Campanile hotels (just do a google search - I daren't put up the links coz they'd be instantly zapped by the moderators for being commercial... They're nothing special, typical 'motel' type accomodation... but they're cheap, clean and always of the same standard... Twin or double en-suite with Tea/Coffee + Television...

If its for a business trip they're fine, if its for a romantic w/e I must admit they're not the most enchanting of places, but as I said, they're cheap, clean and modern.


whisky

Thanks! This will be a romantic trip, but we're not going until January. I just want to get the hotel booked early. Montmartre sounds good!

the most important thing in paris is to be near a central Metro station, with as many lines on it as possible, i was there in august, fantastic city.
Just watch your valuables on the metro, there are some theiving tykes about, same as any capital city really, but much prettier, Bon Chance

It's not big, not expensive, and doesn't stand out, but...

There's a very cute small hotel called the "Hotel de L'ille" about a block from the Paris metro stop "Poisonierre." It's in the North, but not in too bad a place either.

Got to tell you, Paris is one of the few cities I've been to where I walked through the more downtown impoverished areas (during the day) and still felt mostly okay. Though, the warning about pickpockets should be observed. Hint: carry your wallet in your front pocket.

I agree about feeling fairly safe, the city is always tidy, and the police carry firearms... if they say Arret or halte, then you stop !!
we did have a little gang of kids try to snatch my wifes handbag on the metro.

Police carrying firearms would make me feel less safe, not more safe. If the place is so bad that the police need to be armed, the chances are the thugs carry firearms too!

The Louvre is free on the first Sunday of every month and you can get in to use the loos from the Metro entrance before paying an admission fee. This is very useful information as many of the public loos are closed out of season!

A book of ten tickets, or carnet, is worth getting although like London, alot of the points of interest are within walking distance. However once you have walked around them its nice being to hop on to a Metro back to the hotel.

The Eiffel Tower is always a must, unless the weather is completley terrible!

Hotel rooms tend to be small in the centre of Paris, so don't be disappointed if you feel you haven't got room to move.

The Marais area, around the Place de Vosges is worth walking round. There is a walk to follow in the TimeOut Book of Paris Walks.

I did one of the those Time Out walks, when I went to Paris last year, they are really good.

I find the best way of getting a good hotel is by going by Lastminute.com actually. I have got some real bargains for Paris and other European cities. Though as has already been said, the rooms are small.

The Am Hotel des Vertus on the Rue des Vertus in the Marais. It's cheap, clean and perfectly situated.

Follow up: Gnomon, where'd you go and how was the trip?

We ended up staying in the Hotel Mayflower on Rue Chateaubriand, just off the Champs Elysee near the Georges V metro station. This was a nice hotel, although quite expensive. There were good cheap restaurants in the vicinity.

The trip was great! We saw loads of different things in Paris. It was very cold though (-5 degrees). We Irish are not used to that sort of cold.

If there wasn't already some very good entries on Paris, I'd be busy writing some now.

Sounds great. I miss France, I haven't been there since summer '00 so it's good to remember all that stuff. Paris is a great town, as is Lyon.