In February 2017 I had an important decision to make – should I share a good deal ($385) on flights from Raleigh to Paris with Leandra? If I did, it would mean returning, and while it was nice enough, Paris hadn’t been high on my list of interests for a return visit. However, we hadn’t seen the museums or several other sights on our first trip, so with that in mind, we scheduled a 4-day trip for October.
Since we had quite a few parts of Paris we wanted to see, we decided to get 5-day tourist pass which provided unlimited rides in any of the 5 paris zones, including the airport. Given the number of metro rides we took it certainly worked to our advantage. However, we will likely look into the Navigo Découverte pass for a future trip, as it was significantly cheaper. Something to remember for next time.
Although I was less excited about this particular trip than Leandra, in the end, we both enjoyed absorbing the art, the wine and food, and we’d return for a less touristy trip if the price was good in the future.
Where We Stayed
We spent our first two nights in this cozy little hotel in Le Marais, well located two blocks from the Saint-Paul metro stop and surrounded by shops and cafes. Check-in was speedy, and we just barely fit our two bags into the elevator with us for the ride to the fourth floor. Our room faced the street, and a good amount of street noise came through the windows, so earplugs are recommended. Leandra was also annoyed by the lack of a coffee maker / electric kettle. Otherwise the room was comfortable, and the bathroom was spacious and clean.
For nights three and four we switched to the Hilton since we had a free weekend pass to use up. Check-in was easy, and elevators large enough for us and bags. Our room was a little bigger than at Malher, and did have a coffee maker. The bed was rather firm, too much for us, and the pillows were very soft.
Breakfast on the second floor was quite nice, with a good assortment of baked goods, meats, and cheeses. Notably they had a very nice fresh orange juice, not that common in our Europe experiences.
The Hilton is next to Gare Saint-Lazare, so there are several metro and train options available, as well as a large shopping mall, but we didn’t find any interesting restaurants in the immediate area.