ENCHANTING RUE CLER

When visiting Paris, the only area I stay in is the Rue Cler area. Located in the 7th arrondissement between the École Militaire and La Tour Maubourg Métro stations, Rue Cler is a pedestrian-friendly, cobbled-stoned street with great fruit markets, boulangeries, chocolate shops, delicatessens, cheese shops, flower shops, a post office and a Franprix grocery store.

The cobbled-stone charm of Rue Cler.

The area surrounding Rue Cler is so delightful! Of course, the main attraction is the Eiffel Tower which is just a short 10-minute walk away. The beautiful Parc du Champ de Mars is located in front of the Eiffel Tower.  Have a picnic!  Stroll down Rue Cler, stop at different shops for some cheese, fruit, pastries and a bottle of wine, then walk over to the Parc, sit and wonder at the marvel of the Eiffel Tower.  Even better, go at night when the Eiffel Tower is all lit up, and at the top of the hour, the lights twinkle!

The Rue Cler area also has excellent transportation options to connect you to those other must-see sights. Rue Cler is located between two convenient Métro Line #8 stations: La Tour Maubourg and École Militaire. You can also catch the RER-C line at the nearby Invalides Métro stop which is just one stop past La Tour Maubourg (Direction: Créteil-Préfecture).  Taking the RER-C line is the easiest way to visit Versailles.

Using the Paris Métro is the easiest and most convenient way to get around Paris. It is simply the best public transportation system in Europe, if not the world. There is a Métro stop near every major tourist spot in Paris; many of the Métro stops are named after the sight located nearby. However, if you have the time and want to see more of above-ground Paris, opt to travel by bus. Catch Bus #69 near the corner of Rue Cler and Rue St. Dominique and travel all the way to Père Lachaise Cemetery, passing many of the city's top sights such as Musée d'Orsay and Musée du Louvre. Want a scenic route to the Bastille? Catch Bus #87 on Avenue de la Bourdonnais and you'll travel along Boulevard St. Germain and cross over Île St. Louis. Near the École Militaire Métro stop catch Bus #82 to the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg. Catching an late morning train to Gare St. Lazare? You could take Bus #28 on Avenue de la Motte Picquet.

The Rue Cler area is the perfect location to stay during your trip to Paris. Not only is the Eiffel Tower within walking distance, two other often-missed sights are close by: Hôtel des Invalides, where Napoléon's tomb is located...

and Musée Rodin...

an underappreciated museum with a beautiful garden where you can walk among some of Rodin's most famous sculptures such as The Thinker and The Shades. One evening walk down Avenue de la Bourdonnais to the River Seine. The best €11.50 you'll spend in Paris will take you on an evening cruise on Bateau Mouches boat.

And where do I recommend you stay in the Rue Cler area?  I only stay at Hotel Muguet which is located on the quiet Rue Chevert. Hotel Muguet is ranked a 3-star hotel by Paris guidelines and gets 5-star rankings on Tripadvisor for its convenient location, friendly staff and superb cleanliness. But you won't pay 5-star prices at this hotel! Room rates vary from €100.00 for a single, €120 for a queen or twin standard room to only €180.00 for a room with a view of either Les Invalides or the Eiffel Tower! If you are visiting for more than a week, consider booking their 2-person fully-furnished flat located on Rue St. Dominique, just off Rue de la Bourdonnais, just steps from the Eiffel Tower. The rate varies between €135 and €145 a night, depending on what time of year you visit.

Hotel Muguet on Rue Chevert, Paris.

Our room overlooked the indoor/outdoor garden.

Hotel Muguet is such a wonderful place to stay despite the fact it goes against one of my main rules for choosing hotels: breakfast is not included in the price.  The hotel does serve a nice continental breakfast consisting of cereals, hard-boiled eggs, fruit, yogurt, juice and coffee.  However, in my opinion, it's not worth the price (€12.50).  Instead, leave the hotel, walk the two blocks to Rue Cler and find your favorite fruit market or boulangerie.  Nothing compares to fresh French pastry in the morning!

Once you've stayed in the Rue Cler area in Paris, you'll never stay anywhere else!

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photos were taken by me during my trip to Paris.

RUE CLER OR THE MARAIS?

After paring down your list of recommended hotels to 5 or 6 choices, your next step is determine in what part of the city do you want to stay in. Do you want to be near the Eiffel Tower and Rue Cler with its fruit markets and boulangeries, or do you prefer the Jewish Quarter and Place des Vosges area of the Marais or the narrow streets and university atmosphere of Latin Quarter? Would you prefer to be near Stazione Termini in Rome or near the Pantheon and the historic center or perhaps even the unique Trastevere area? In Amsterdam, you can choose a hotel with a canal view or stay in a hotel away from the main city center, but be only a half-block away from a stop on Tram Line #2.

There are several factors to consider when choosing what part of a city to stay in. One factor will be how many nights will you be staying in this city. If you're just passing through a city for one night and arriving by train, choosing a hotel near the train station makes sense since you'll be leaving again in the morning. Also, if you need a room for just one night, it's probably better to choose a hotel instead of a Bed and Breakfast. Many Bed and Breakfasts will charge extra if you are staying for just one night.

Another factor to think about when choosing where to stay is price. While you can find good, inexpensive hotels and Bed and Breakfasts in the main tourist area, choosing to stay just outside the main tourist center can sometimes save you a significant amount of money. In certain cities that have recently come out of Communist rule, such as Prague, prices for hotel rooms, restaurants and even basic services can drop dramatically if you choose to stay away from the city center. And I'm not talking about way outside the city center. You could be just six blocks away and still save a lot of money. Fortunately these cities usually have excellent public transportation systems (something good from the Communist government!), so you will no problem traveling to and from your hotel.

Another factor in determining what part of a city to stay in is what kind of tourist do you want to be?  Do you want to be a regular tourist?  Do you have a list of this, this, this and this that you have to see in the few days you are visiting the city?  If so, you would probably want to stay closer to the city center and those sights. Or are you more interested in people rather than places? Do you want to spend more time interacting with the inhabitants of that city rather than fighting the foreigners in the major museums? If that's the case, you might want to choose a hotel or Bed and Breakfast in a residential area. While you can still visit those major must-see sights during the day, in the evenings you can have dinner or drinks in the same places where the residents frequent or stroll the sidewalks where parents walk with their children. You'll probably also get a better night's sleep in the quiet residential neighborhood.

If you are planning an extended stay in a city, consider renting an apartment especially if there is a group traveling together to split the cost.  Apartment rentals in residential areas can be more cost-effective than hotels especially if you are visiting for a longer period of time. However, in some cities you can rent an apartment for shorter stays of just one week. Tripadvisor has a "Vacation Rentals" tab next to the "Hotels" and "B&Bs/Inns" tabs, plus there are websites that can help you find an apartment such as http://www.europeanhomerentals.com/ and http://www.europeanproperty.com/. Renting an apartment can really give you the feeling of being a temporary resident of that city.  And remember that in most major European cities, public transportation is excellent.  You can stay outside the city center, but travel to the major sites in a matter of minutes.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner

SEARCHING FOR THAT PERFECT PLACE TO STAY

I've traveled to and stayed several days in Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and Bruges. In each city, I stayed in a terrific hotel or Bed and Breakfast.  The main resource I use to choose a hotel or Bed and Breakfast is Tripadvisor. 

I prefer to use Tripadvisor for searching for my accommodations. After logging onto the Tripadvisor website, just type in the name of the city that you plan to visit in the Search and scroll down the list of the top rated hotels or bed and breakfasts.  Click on either the tab for marked "Hotel" or "B&B" and for every major European city you will be able to find many reasonably priced, highly-recommended places to stay. Even better, on the left side of the screen, refine your search to change your price range and traveler rating.

Think it's hard to find a good, inexpensive hotel in Paris? Not at all. By refining my search on Tripadvisor so that my price range is no more than $250 and no less than a 4.5 out of 5 star review, I can see that the 6th, 7th, 9th 18th, 19th, 22nd, 27th, 32nd and 33rd-ranked hotels will fit into this category. Currently there are 1,844 hotels listed on Tripadvisor, so if you book a room in a hotel ranked 33 out of 1,844, THAT'S IN THE TOP 2% RANKED HOTELS proving that you don’t have to spend a lot of Euros to get a good hotel room in Paris.

On the left-hand side of the blog I have listed the links to all the hotels and Bed and Breakfasts I have stayed in during my travels to Europe.  I highly recommend each one of them! 

Hotel Aberdeen, Roma

Hotel Muguet, Paris

Absoluut Verhulst, Brugge

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photos were taken by me.
 

CHOOSING YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS

The first thing I do when I begin to plan a trip is choose where I will be staying.  I need an idea of where we will be staying in the city we are visiting.  This is crucial in planning each day's general itinerary, plus by knowing where our hotel or B&B is located in the city we are visiting, I can become familiar with the nearby tram/bus/Métro lines.  I can also map out what general area of the city we will visit each day. By dividing a large city into sections, it's easier to plan your itinerary for each day.

When choosing a place to stay, I prefer either a small family-run hotel with breakfast included or a Bed and Breakfast. There are many reasons for this:

The first is obvious...you are provided breakfast. That's one meal you won't have to worry about spending money on and you can begin your day of sightseeing with a full stomach.

The second reason I like staying in a B&B is that you get to connect with a local family in the city you are visiting and meet and talk with other fellow travelers. It's so rewarding to meet other travelers, especially if they are from another country other than the U.S. Isn't one of the reasons you travel to a foreign country to meet and interact with persons from cultures other than your own? When you are one of hundreds or even thousands of guests in a large chain hotel, it's really hard to interact with others.

Frieda and Benno with my sister at the Absoluut Verhulst B&B in Bruges.  An absoluutly fabulous place to stay!

The third reason I prefer to stay in a B&B is the price. Most Bed and Breakfast establishments charge far less than the large chain hotels, and you're getting the breakfast included in your room rate. In a B&B or even a smaller hotel, you are not being charged for the thrills and frills associated with the larger chain hotels. (Now if you prefer the thrills and frills, then by all means, continue booking a room at these hotels.)

Now the biggest complaint that I see on travel review websites is "It was a great hotel, but my room was too small." This really amazes me when I see this. When you are planning a trip to Europe, how much time are you expecting to stay in your room? When I visit Europe, I plan on spending the least amount of time in my room as possible. I'm not saving up thousands of dollars to spend extra time in my room. I'm out visiting the museums, churches and restaurants. I want a room to take a shower and get a good night's sleep. Also, anyone who plans to visit Europe should realize that hotel rooms are smaller there. Many hotels and B&Bs are located in renovated canal houses or centuries-old homes that have been converted. And finally, isn't having a smaller room just part of the charm of traveling and staying in those family-run smaller hotels or B&Bs? If you need a larger room, don't book a hotel that's located in a converted canal house in Amsterdam. Stick to those generic name-brand chain hotels.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner

All photos were taken by me.