In the process of planning a trip for this may and have booked La Villa Paris based on the rave reviews found here on TA of not only the accommodations but also the host.
After spending some additional time here in the forums I%26#39;m now concerned that I may feel too far away from many of the places to visit. I%26#39;ve been to Paris before, but this will be the first time for my wife.
My question - What do the experts think? Should we look for a different location? Our budget is up to 180E/night (La Villa is 155E/night).
On a related note, any idea how much a taxi from Gare du Nord to La Villa Paris (33 Rue de la Fontaine a Mulard)? I was thinking about taking the RER to Cite Universitaire, but now think it might be a big hassle (each of us will have a large bag and a daypack) to use the RER then walk with all our stuff....
Thanks in advance!
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You%26#39;ve looked at a map and know the location and can guess at the relative in-convenience of the location. While it%26#39;s certainly true that there is a reatively fast RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne connection from CITÉ UNIVERSITÉ RER and a #7 Metro connection from MAISON BLANCHE from the general vicinity...the question you%26#39;ve got to answer for yourself is: %26#39;..do you want to %26#39;commute%26#39; to the %26#39;PARIS%26#39; you%26#39;ve probably come to visit ??..%26#39;....%26#39;cause that%26#39;s what you%26#39;ll be doin%26#39;. There won%26#39;t be all that much of interest in the neighborhood of rue de la Fontaine a Mulard.
Given the rates for VILLA de PARIS, you can certainly find good accommodation options more conveniently situated and still remain within any sort of accommodations budget you might have.
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My ex-boyfriend live a few streets from there, and i agree it is not great, it is also pretty quiet at night to find a restaurant. Plus you need to walk a bit the the RER and to the métro Maison Blanche.
Line 21 of the bus is nice, going past the area of Ile de la Cité and Opéra , but especially at peak hours it takes some time.
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Ready4Sun, I booked La Villa Paris for my upcoming trip to Paris for the same reasons - rave reviews of both the property and the owner/host. These things are both important to me. Personally, I like to have a relatively quiet place to unwind after a whirlwind day of sightseeing, lots of walking, etc. A 10 minute walk to a subway station is not a major inconvenience to me. Also, the number 67 bus stop is right across from La Villa Paris. It will take you to Ile St Louis, Rue de Rivoli, etc. I know it can be a long ride, depending on time of day, but I%26#39;ll be on vacation, so not in a particular hurry to get anywhere.
Like anything, your choice of accommodation and its location is dependent on your priorities. Enjoy your trip!
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Thanks everybody for the replies - It would appear the common sentiment is that there are obviously pros and cons to any location.
I think it was probably one post the I read that really got me questioning my decision since it stated to expect a %26quot;commute%26quot; time from the area I%26#39;m staying to the Eiffel Tower of around an hour.
With only 4 nights in Paris, time is at a bit of a premium. While a 30 minute commute wouldn%26#39;t be awful, an hour or longer seems like a lot of time spent daily on a train (2 hours r/t).
Any idea on what we should expect as far as travel time to/from the city center to our hotel? Looking at a map can tell me the distance, but that is very different from the actual travel time we%26#39;ll be spending.
Thanks again!
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Can you try using the Itinerary feature on
www.ratp.fr
You can click on %26#39;station%26#39; and type your departure stop and destination stop, then it will show you a map, the duration of the trip, etc.
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I can%26#39;t believe that it takes 1 hr to go from ANYWHERE in the 20 districts, evenn rear the peripherique to the Eiffel tower by Metro/RER. According to the RATP site it takes 27 minutes (I didn%26#39;t check other routes). Surely that isn%26#39;t much and you are only going to do it once. the 13th , especially tha tarea is quite interesting and you have a chance to see how average Parisians live. As you have seen on this site MOST tourists behave like lemmings. They Must stay in the same place as everyone else so these areas (districts with low numbers) have, at times, more tourists than locals. As a result the quality of everything there is there tend to go down. Mind you, if most tourists stays in a few places this leaves the rest of Paris for those of us that do not mind a 20-35 minutes trip to enjoy. I have gone to Paris from North America--for pleasure, not business-- for 1 1/2 days, then gone to London for another 1/2 day before flying back, and didn%26#39;t stay in the dead centre area of downtown in neither place.
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I%26#39;m not sure that the actual %26#39;commute%26#39; time is the issue. But, if it takes 8-10 minutes to walk from the hotel to the CITÉ UNIVERSIARE RER station, the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne ride from there to SAINT MICHEL-NOTRE DAME RER or CHATELET-LES HALLES only takes 9-11 mins. RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne trains run on a frequency of 1-every 3-6 mins..so %26#39;wait-times%26#39; are within reason. So the %26#39;commute%26#39; would be less than 30 mins.
But it%26#39;s not so much the commute. There%26#39;s pretty much NOTHING down in this general neighborhood...especially in the evenings when shops and office close. One of the advantages of staying in a more central neighborhood, is that when you step out of the door of your hotel, at almost any hour of day or night, you are already %26#39;..IN..%26#39; and amid the PARIS that you%26#39;ve come to visit...and many of the places, sights and attractions of the PARIS that you%26#39;ve come to see and visit are within easy strolling/walking distance of your door (no %26#39;commutes%26#39;)....as are a wide selection of cafés, bistros, restaurants, boulangeries, patisseries, stores, shops, etc.
With the exception of its rtelatively inconvenient and decidedly UN-interesting neighborhood, I%26#39;ve NOTHING negative to offer about the VILA PARIS property...but there are any number of at least equally good options within the price range that are much more conveniently situated.
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I stayed at La Villa Paris last July with my daughter, - We arrived via RER, - no hassle at all despite our luggage. We used to enjoy the walk from La Villa Paris to the nearest Metro, passing the market and many little shops %26amp; bars - it was lovely to almost feel %26quot;french%26quot; (until we spoke of course!). - The distance from things wouldn%26#39;t put me off personally, - the metro is very quick, - we had no problems %26amp; any of the sights in the centre were easy to get to. - We felt as though we were %26quot;coming home%26quot; each evening when we returned to La Villa Paris, - and we felt perfectly safe walking back from the Metro.
There are some lovely little restaurants within 5-10 mins walking distance, opposite the Metro a larger shopping centre, - and garden area with fountain where we did sit %26amp; relax for a while. At no time did we ever feel %26quot;too far away%26quot; from anything. Marie is a very nice welcoming lady, - and very keen to help, sharing maps %26amp; info etc.. When we left, we were heading for Montparnasse Station %26amp; took the metro. -
If you stick with La Villa Paris, - I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did!
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