Visiting Paris — Lodging
This page concerns Paris lodging, and the airport trains to and from the city center.
Many of our trips start, finish, or both in Paris, our home city. Even if you are on a trip that doesn’t, or even if you are not on one of our trips, you should stop by and visit, since watching the locals drive is terrific fun, and there are both is a McDonald’s and a Burger King here. (Burger King closed its French outlets in 1998. Bummer.)
We can help you set up your Paris stay in any number of ways, but you will be just as good at most of them yourself, and avoid paying us fees for stuff you can perfectly well handle.
Domains where we may be of more than usual use, however, include the following:
Lodging
Airport Train Tickets to or from Paris Center
Luggage Storage (this link will take you to another page)
Lodging
We make fee-free bookings at our “usual” hotels (the one described as “economical,” and the one described as “more comfortable”). And, of course, there is no fee applied for booking our guest apartments. At other hotels, our usual hotel booking fee applies.
Our Guest Apartments
We own a trio of studios, all with kitchen areas and detached bathrooms. They are located in the 15th century building which houses our office, in Paris’s most enjoyable pedestrian neighborhood, the 2nd arrondissement’s Quartier Montorgueil.
Our building is within walking distance (15 minutes or less) of the Louvre, Pompidou Center, Palais Royal, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Marais.... and a block from an old market street with no fewer than 8 patisseries and 20 cafés, plus lots of edible animals hanging in store windows with their fur or plumage still on.
We are also within a 5-minute walk of 4 different métro stations, served by 9 of Paris’ 18 lines, including direct lines to both airports, and to 6 of Paris’ 7 main rail stations.
A 3-night minimum stay is normally required, but 2 night stays are possible at the last minute. Follow this link for details.
Usual Hotel – Economical (2*)
A centrally located 2-star, walking distance from the Pompidou Center, Notre Dame, the Marais, and our office. Excellent métro access: the ease of moving about town is key on a short visit. But it is a simple place, reflecting prices low for central Paris. For current exchange rates to the €uro, see here.
These prices include breakfast and taxes.
| Room Type |
Single
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Double or Twin*
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Solo traveller in
Twin / Triple #
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| Cost per Night, 2008 |
69 €uros
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84 €
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50 €
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* Price for 2 people, sharing a room w/ a double bed, or with two twin beds.
# Price for one person in twin room.
3 requesting a triple pay 116 €, if it is available (there is only one in the hotel).
Otherwise it is necessary to take a twin and a single, or to take the “solo traveller” rate for the third person if you are reserving 35 days in advance.
If you are on one of our cycle trips, the twin / triple option may be selected by singles, at this hotel only, until 35 days before your trip’s start date (our receipt of payment). We will find you (a) roommate(s) of the same basic gender, or treat you to a single if we can’t.
Within 35 days, ask if a roommate can be found. If none can be, only the single rate is available.
Usual Hotel – More Luxurious Option (3*)
We also offer a comfortable 3-star, better kept and appointed, air conditioned, a few blocks from the Louvre and two from the Seine. Prices are for “superior” rooms (larger than common Paris fare, particularly for a place in the medieval city center).
These prices do not include breakfast, but do include taxes.
| Room Type |
Single
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Double or
Twin
|
Triple
|
| Cost per night, 2007* |
159 €
|
189 €
|
269 €
|
* July 14 - Aug. 31: 135 € single, 158 € double or twin, 189 € triple.
Left Bank Hotels
We have a stable of these.... Prices for any given quality of room are typically 20 - 30 euros higher per room than our usual, for equivalent quality. Our usual hotel booking fee applies (these people are hard to work with).
Economical Options for Longer Stays
If you wish to economize, you can request a room in one of our selected one-star hotels, in the neighborhood of our office.
In general, one-star hotels are a mixed bag. They always offer summary comfort (maybe the mattress is a bit saggy, the bed spread has a cigarette burn, there may not be a phone in the room...). Some have worse problems, the nature of which we will leave to your imagination.
The ones we use are “OK.” That means that they are responsibly operated, and cater to a clientele of economy-minded tourists and business travellers on per diem stipends. They are clean and not too dowdy, even when the decoration smacks of the 1970’s. But then, orange is the new black, right?
They make the most sense for single travellers, where a room can be had for circa 40 € with hall shower, or 50 - 55€ with an in-room shower (compared to our usual “economical” single at 69 euros, which, however, includes breakfast). Our usual hotel booking fee applies, wiping out the advantage for the first night, so this really only makes sense for stays of three or more nights.
Paris Airport Train Tickets
If you are flying into either of Paris’ two major airports (Orly, or Charles de Gaulle), we can send you tickets for the appropriate airport train into the city center, along with detailed instructions on how to find it and ride it. The cost is 10 € per ticket from either airport (or the equivalent in $). The tickets include a métro ride within Paris, so you can reach (or depart from) any point in the city without buying any further ticket.
The advantages to pre-purchasing your airport train tickets are:
- You may avoid long lines at the airport (up to an hour in summer), and will avoid having to figure out how to buy the thing and how to find and ride the train.
- Pre-purchase eliminates the need to exchange currency at userous airport rates prior to your arrival in the city center.
- You avoid risks inherent in post-flight-stupor airport transactions (pickpockets, sleep-induced abandonment of personal belongings at ticket windows...).
- We provide detailed instructions on how to use the airport train, which is otherwise not the simplist of vehicles....
The tickets are refundable less 2 € should you not use a purchased ticket for any reason.
To order tickets, e.mail us (info@bluemarble.org), or call, or mark your request on your “Access Package” order sheet. Be sure to tell us the number of tickets you would like, and from which airport (Orly or Charles de Gaulle). Intercontinental flights arrive at Charles de Gaulle, but if you are coming from elsewhere, or if you change planes within Europe, your connection could bring you to either. The tickets and related information will be sent to you automatically with your final itinerary. Their cost will be added to your account.
Thank you in advance, and Bon Voyage!
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