1st Paris Visit with College Aged Kids. Where should we stay?

A while ago, we stayed at this place. I see that they have “family rooms” with 2 double beds.

It was a great location for us because we love to explore cities on foot. Safe, centrally located, and with good breakfast.

1 Like

If you end up on the Ile St Louis (and even if you don’t) go to Berthillon’s the best ice cream in the world. I spent a few weeks in the apartment of a friend on the Ile St Louis. The toilet was down a flight of stairs in the courtyard. When the kids were young we stayed in a hotel with a view of the Arènes de Lutèce. It’s on the Left Bank not far from the Ile St. Louis.

5 Likes

I’ve lived in Paris and visit often for weeks even months at a time. With teens I’d say Latin Quarter or St Germain des Pres. Look for zip codes 75005 and 75006. I prefer the left bank bc it is very hip and fun (the Right Bank does have some hip areas but for a family I’d say Left Bank). The Sorbonne is in the 5th and so many young people about. And the Mouffetard is great for hole in the wall restaurants. We’ve stayed at Hotel des Grands Hommes next to the Pantheon in the 5th. PERFECT location with teens and I’m sure within your budget. Two rooms will be needed. If you can get a balcony room, it is worth the splurge.

6 Likes

Latin Quarter it is! Thank you ALL for the wonderful recommendations! Certainly a challenge to find space for four that is within budget. Being based in the 5th will put us close to so many of the things we want to see. I WILL be sampling Berthillon’s ice cream! :wink:

4 Likes

I’d go with the Latin Quarter as well. Hopping, fun and very near to many of the major sites. There are a lot of good, out of the way restaurants on Rue Monsieur le Prince (and also on the Rue Mouffetard as someone else mentioned).

1 Like

Please give us an update post trip!

5 Likes

One other note. We’ve found apartments better than hotels while traveling with the kids. It also tends to be cheaper as few European hotels have rooms that accommodate 4.

3 Likes

I’ll second the apartment idea for families. We did 4 nights in Rome with our two grown kids and just loved being there together. We did not eat a lot in the place, which had a small kitchen. But it was nice to have a place for breakfast and just general hanging about on our own schedules.

There can be a bit of stress on coordinating with owners (in that case owner arranged limo pickup at airport and delivery to the exact address - very helpful after jet lag; in Barcelona and Paris with other couples we had to meet an agent at the apartment). For us it was worthwhile trade off to get extra space and lower cost.

2 Likes

We kept striking out with Airbnb availability for Paris. It definitely seems to be the way to go for 4 or more! Moving on from there to Italy, vacation rentals will be our plan. Will be nice to be able to throw some laundry in, or even squeeze in the odd instrument practice. :flushed: Thinking our neighbors may grant us a little more grace than if we were wall to wall in a hotel! :joy:

1 Like

We booked an Airbnb in Florence with 2 kids, it was right down at the center, much more enjoyable than the previous trip to Florence where we stayed in a hotel, but we no longer book with Airbnb, hotels are easily cancellable, it took forever to get a refund with Airbnb in London due to covid. We had to prove the flight was cancelled.
So now I’m booking everything with points.

2 Likes

Pre-Covid, we used Airbnbs when we traveled with the kids – as people say, one can get a big apartment with multiple BRs (especially important if SOs are also on the trip). Typically less expensive.

But as @DrGoogle123 points out, cancellation can be a lot easier with hotels, which can make a big difference in uncertain times such as these.

4 Likes

We do both hotels and Airbnb. As I age, I prefer two hotel rooms bc there are no expectations parent will be cooking dinner or otherwise managing every need. I once read an article re trip vs vacation and have to say that, when we can afford it, a vacation wins (ergo the hotel!).

5 Likes

In Airbnb in Europe (Rome, Barcelona, Paris), we actually ate out a lot in restaurants. But sometimes it’s nice to just pick up sandwiches/whatever and head back to the room for a relaxing meal.
If there is a bakery nearby for breakfast foods, all the better.

3 Likes

When we are in Paris we love to get croissants from local bakeries for breakfast. We also pick up cheeses, cold meats and a baguette for lunch or even dinner some days.

6 Likes

We did a lot of takeouts in Paris and enjoyed picnics and eating in our room. It spared our budget a lot. I loved that there was a lot of very specific shops—bakery, cheese shop, pate shop, deli. The fruit juices in most of Europe were 100% juice.

2 Likes

Another vote for an apartment (we used VRBO in both Paris and Rome) and the key advantage was the different jet lag schedules. If some members of the family will fall asleep on night one and be perfectly adjusted the next day, and others find themselves up at 3 am, it’s nice to have the living room to use for the off-cycle folks! I’ve sat in bathtubs reading so I didn’t wake my spouse in hotel rooms… and frankly, having a living room is a lot more comfortable.

We found even the modest takeout options in Paris (cheap places) were high quality and “gourmet” type. So just one splurge on a fancy restaurant meal, the rest were less expensive and it was nice to have a refrigerator available.

Have a blast- so much fun!!!

4 Likes

Frankly my husband and I can’t stand fancy restaurant meals anymore, the older I get the less patience I have with the fancy restaurants, we’re now prefer the grab and go style.

2 Likes

We are staying at a house (villa) near Rome this fir the first part of the trip. It has a pool and a bedroom/bathroom for each of us. We will then stay at a hotel in Rome for few days.
Staying at an Airbnb is nice with a family because it often has a common place to hang out whereas with a hotel people just go back to their room. My favorite time on vacation is to just spending some quiet time with different people. It may be early morning over a cup of coffee, or late night over a night cap.

5 Likes

When we went to Europe with the kids after. youngest graduated college, they insisted we would not be in the room much… didn’t care what we picked. Location was priority. Each choice had it’s own charm, and gotta say it was easy to coordinate things with us all together rather in separate rooms.

The Rome apartment for 4 nights was the best, with tons of room and superb Piaza Navona neighbor The one night in a Venice suite was a surprise upgrade - apartment with 2 bathrooms! The one night on the train in sleeper train (shared with 2 Japanese girls in school group) was awkward but memorable. Then the 4 nights together in one hotel room in Munich near train station was pretty tight quarters. But oh how we had fun together! If we had been willing to pay for two hotel rooms in each place, it just would not have been as fun us the parents. So glad we did that trip. Starting 2 years ahead, we said - “save the two weeks after CO_kid2 graduates”.

6 Likes

Of course. And we do this. I was just suggesting that sometimes an Airbnb is better and sometimes a hotel is better. We’ve traveled all across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central America doing a mix of both. Different lodging options in different countries have different advantages. You have to know what you want and how that fits in with the local culture to make an informed decision.

Our last big trip before Covid was to Switzerland and we stayed in an Airbnb in Murren. It was lovely. And had so much space that all the kids had their own bedroom. But the town was very small and the grocery we could walk to was super small and expensive. It was such a frustrating experience to feed the family thee times a day. Even the restaurants were full. Many people we encountered along our daily hikes said the best way to do this area was with a hotel that had a meal package. I had researched this and decided against bc of the cost. But honestly the headache was not worth the savings. The year before we spent a month between Japan and Hong Kong and stayed in full service hotels with breakfast included and club lounges with enough drinks and appetizers and mini entrees that if we’d wanted to we could’ve only paid for lunch. It was absolutely the most carefree trip we’d had in a while. For once I didn’t feel responsible for every meal! So my point really is just that it depends.

7 Likes